II. Indication
- Evaluation for large Knee Joint effusion
III. Technique
- Patient lies supine on table
- Examiner forces fluid from suprapatellar pouch
- Firmly grasp just above Patella with one hand
- Forces Joint Fluid between Patella and femur
- Examiner pushes Patella downward into femur with 2-3 fingers
IV. Interpretation: Positive test suggests large effusion
- Large Knee Joint effusion: Palpable click present as Patella strikes the trochlea
- No joint effusion (normal): no click palpated
V. References
- Bates (1991) Physical Exam, Lippincott
- Kastelein (2009) Arch Phys Med Rehabil 90(1): 82-86 [PubMed]
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Related Studies
| Concepts | Sign or Symptom (T184) |
| SnomedCT | 56020001 |
| Dutch | zwevende patella |
| French | Rotule flottante |
| German | tanzende Patella |
| Italian | Rotula fluttuante |
| Portuguese | Rótula flutuante |
| Spanish | Rótula flotante, percusión rotuliana, percusión rotuliana (hallazgo), rótula flotante, clic rotuliano, peloteo rotuliano (hallazgo), peloteo rotuliano, chasquido rotuliano |
| Japanese | 膝蓋跳動, ｼﾂｶﾞｲﾁｮｳﾄﾞｳ |
| English | knee patella ballottement, patellar ballottement (physical finding), patellar ballottement, floating patella, patellar tapping, patellar tap, Floating patella, Patellar ballottement, Patellar tap, Patellar click, Patellar tap (finding) |
| Czech | Plovoucí čéška |
| Hungarian | Mobilis patella |
