The Hip Leg Lowering Test assesses the client’s ability to control pelvic and lumbar position while lowering one or both legs from a raised position. It is best interpreted as a lumbopelvic control and abdominal performance test, not as a diagnostic test. Recent research continues to use double-leg lowering-style tests as core stability measures in athletic and adolescent populations, but the test should be interpreted with control quality, pain, compensation and task relevance.
A client reports that their lower back arches during leg lowering, dead bug variations, hanging leg raises or supine core exercises. They can perform basic abdominal bracing, but lose control when the legs are lowered. The Hip Leg Lowering Test provides a simple way to observe whether the client can maintain lumbopelvic position as the load on the trunk increases.
The test should not be used to diagnose back pain or identify one weak muscle. It provides information about movement control under a specific challenge.
Test name: Hip Leg Lowering Test
Also known as: Double Leg Lowering Test, Supine Double Leg Lowering Test
Body region: Lumbopelvic region, hips, trunk
Purpose: Assess lumbopelvic control during leg lowering
Commonly associated with: Abdominal performance, pelvic control, trunk control during lower-limb loading
Positive finding: Loss of lumbar or pelvic control, pain reproduction or inability to lower without compensation
Negative finding: Controlled lowering without pain or loss of pelvic position
Best used with: Plank, side plank, dead bug, hip flexor strength, straight leg raise, lower-limb strength and functional movement assessment
Key limitation: It is not a diagnostic test and does not identify one structure or condition
The Hip Leg Lowering Test assesses how well the client maintains lumbar and pelvic control while lowering the legs from a raised position.
It may be performed as a double-leg version, single-leg version or modified version. The exact method should be recorded because these versions are not interchangeable.
The test is used to assess lumbopelvic control under increasing load.
It may help inform:
Core control programming
Exercise regression or progression
Return to trunk-loading exercises
Dead bug, hollow hold or leg lowering progressions
Lower-limb strength exercise setup
Movement confidence and symptom monitoring
The test assesses the client’s ability to maintain trunk and pelvic position while the hip flexors and lower limbs create an increasing extension demand on the lumbar spine.
It does not directly diagnose low back pain, disc pathology, hip pathology or abdominal weakness.
This test may be useful for gym clients, field sport athletes, dancers, runners, postpartum clients where appropriate, adolescents, and clients progressing trunk control or leg lowering exercises.
Use this test when you want to assess trunk control during a graded lower-limb lever challenge and the client can safely lie supine and lift the legs.
Use caution with acute low back pain, high symptom irritability, hip flexor pain, abdominal surgery history, pregnancy-related positioning limits, inability to lift the legs safely, or symptoms that worsen with supine loading.
Modify the test when the full double-leg version is too difficult.
Treatment table or mat
Pain scale
Optional pressure biofeedback unit
Optional inclinometer or angle marker
Measurz recording workflow
Ask the client to lie supine on a table or mat.
Both hips start flexed, commonly near 90 degrees, with knees extended for the full version or flexed for a modified version.
Stand beside the client where lumbar and pelvic movement can be observed.
Hands may be placed under the lumbar spine to monitor loss of pressure, or a pressure biofeedback unit may be used if available.
Ask the client to maintain a controlled pelvic position without breath-holding or excessive rib flare.
The client slowly lowers one or both legs toward the table while maintaining lumbar and pelvic control.
Ask the client to lower slowly and stop when they feel the back arch, pelvic control is lost, pain appears or the examiner observes compensation.
A positive or limited control finding is loss of lumbar/pelvic control, pain reproduction, early anterior pelvic tilt, rib flare, breath-holding or inability to complete the movement as instructed.
A negative or controlled finding is smooth leg lowering with maintained pelvic control and no familiar pain.
Stop when pelvic control is lost, pain increases, the client breath-holds strongly, shaking becomes excessive or symptoms are not tolerated.
Do not force the legs lower. The endpoint is control loss or symptom onset, not maximum range at all costs.
A positive Hip Leg Lowering Test may indicate reduced lumbopelvic control under this specific load, especially when the client loses pelvic position early or reproduces familiar symptoms. It does not prove abdominal weakness or diagnose the cause of symptoms.
A negative test suggests the client can control the tested leg-lowering challenge without familiar pain or obvious compensation. It does not mean the client has adequate control for all sport, gym or work tasks.
Interpretation is stronger when paired with plank endurance, side plank, dead bug variations, hip strength, breathing strategy, lumbar ROM and functional movement tasks.
This test is not designed as a diagnostic accuracy test for a specific condition. High-quality 2020+ sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratio evidence for diagnosing a defined pathology using the Hip Leg Lowering Test appears limited.
No sensitivity, specificity or likelihood ratio values are included because the test is best interpreted as a performance and control measure rather than a condition-specific orthopaedic diagnostic test.
A 2022 study of healthy adolescents described performance on the supine double leg lowering test and noted that adolescent performance had not been well established, even though the test is used as a core stability measure.
A 2022 study in collegiate athletes used the double-leg lowering test as one of several core stability measures when examining associations with upper-extremity performance, supporting its use as a performance-related measure rather than a diagnostic test.
Common errors include scoring the test without observing pelvic control, allowing breath-holding, using the double-leg version when a regression is needed, ignoring pain, lowering too quickly and treating the result as a diagnosis.
Limitations include dependence on hip flexor tolerance, hamstring flexibility, body size, instruction quality, pain, client confidence and method variation.
Use the Hip Leg Lowering Test to guide trunk control progressions, select appropriate core exercise variations and track whether the client can maintain pelvic control under increasing lower-limb lever demand.
Record the test name, version used, result, side if single-leg, angle or level reached, pain score, symptom location, symptom quality, pelvic control, lumbar arching, rib flare, breathing strategy, compensation, confidence in result, reason for stopping and retest date.
Add related findings such as plank, side plank, dead bug, hip flexor strength, straight leg raise, lumbar ROM and functional exercise tolerance.
Plank Test
Side Plank Test
McGill Endurance Tests
Straight Leg Raise Test
Hip Flexion Test
Deadlift Assessment
Squat Assessment
Single-Leg Bridge Test
It assesses lumbopelvic control while the legs are lowered from a raised position.
No. It is a performance and movement-control test, not a diagnostic test for a specific condition.
Loss of pelvic control, lumbar arching, pain reproduction, rib flare or inability to lower with control.
Either can be used, but the version must be recorded and repeated consistently.
Record version, angle or level reached, pain, symptoms, pelvic control, lumbar position, breathing and reason for stopping.
The Hip Leg Lowering Test assesses lumbopelvic control under leg-lowering load.
It is not a stand-alone diagnostic test.
Record control loss rather than forcing maximum range.
Modified versions may be more suitable for some clients.
Measurz should capture version, score, symptoms and compensation.
Alshahrani, A., et al. (2022). Correlation between core stability and upper-extremity performance in collegiate athletes. Medicina, 58(8), 982. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58080982
Barker, A., et al. (2022). Performance on a motor control test in an asymptomatic adolescent population. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 17(2). Needs verification.
