The Fitzgerald Test is a hip special test used to provoke symptoms associated with anterior or posterior acetabular labral involvement. It uses combined hip movements to move the femoral head and neck through positions that may stress the acetabular labrum.
A positive finding may include reproduction of familiar hip or groin pain, sharp pain, catching, clicking or symptom reproduction during the test arc. However, the Fitzgerald Test does not confirm a labral tear on its own. It should be interpreted alongside history, mechanical symptoms, hip range of motion, other special tests, imaging if relevant and professional judgement.
The Fitzgerald Test is a hip special test used in assessment reasoning for suspected acetabular labral involvement. It includes manoeuvres for both anterior and posterior labral symptom provocation.
The test was described in the context of acetabular labral tears, where mechanical hip pain and clicking were commonly reported features. Since then, hip labral testing has become part of many hip and groin assessment frameworks.
The Fitzgerald Test is clinically useful because it combines end-range hip positions and symptom provocation. However, hip symptoms can overlap between labral, femoroacetabular, capsular, muscular, tendon, lumbar, pelvic and other sources. Because of this, a positive Fitzgerald Test should not be treated as proof of a labral tear.
Systematic review evidence suggests the Fitzgerald Test may have high sensitivity in limited studies, but specificity is not well established. This means a negative result may sometimes be useful in reducing suspicion when the broader assessment is also reassuring, but a positive result should be interpreted cautiously.
Test name: Fitzgerald Test
Region: Hip and groin
Primary purpose: Support assessment reasoning for anterior or posterior acetabular labral involvement
Test variations: Anterior labral manoeuvre and posterior labral manoeuvre
Positive finding: Familiar hip/groin pain, sharp pain, clicking, catching or symptom reproduction
Negative finding: No familiar pain, no relevant mechanical symptoms and similar response to the opposite side
Main limitation: Specificity is not well established; the test does not confirm labral pathology.
The Fitzgerald Test is a passive hip movement test used to provoke symptoms that may be associated with acetabular labral involvement.
It includes two main variations:
Anterior Fitzgerald Test
The hip is moved from flexion, abduction and external rotation toward extension, adduction and internal rotation.
Posterior Fitzgerald Test
The hip is moved from flexion, adduction and internal rotation toward extension, abduction and external rotation.
The test is considered positive when it reproduces familiar pain, sharp hip pain, clicking, catching or the client’s typical mechanical symptoms.
The Fitzgerald Test may be used to support assessment reasoning around:
Suspected acetabular labral involvement
Anterior hip or groin pain
Posterior hip symptoms
Mechanical hip symptoms
Clicking, catching or locking sensations
Femoroacetabular impingement-type presentations
Hip pain during pivoting, twisting or deep flexion
Sport-related hip and groin symptoms
Whether further assessment may be appropriate
It is most useful when combined with history, symptom behaviour, hip range of motion and other hip special tests.
The Fitzgerald Test assesses symptom response during combined hip movement arcs.
It may provide information about:
Anterior hip or groin symptom provocation
Posterior hip symptom provocation
Mechanical symptom reproduction
Painful hip arc
Side-to-side difference
Hip irritability
End-range tolerance
Possible intra-articular hip contribution
It does not directly assess:
Labral integrity with certainty
FAI morphology with certainty
Cartilage status
Imaging findings
Hip strength
Pelvic control
Lumbar contribution
Gait mechanics
Readiness for sport or work
Treatment needs
The Fitzgerald Test may be useful for clients with:
Hip or groin pain
Mechanical hip symptoms
Clicking, catching, locking or giving-way sensations
Pain with pivoting or twisting
Pain with deep hip flexion
Sport-related hip symptoms
Suspected intra-articular hip contribution
Symptoms that require clearer baseline documentation
It may also be useful for professionals learning how to assess hip symptom response using combined movement tests.
Consider using the Fitzgerald Test when:
Labral involvement is part of the assessment reasoning
The client reports mechanical hip symptoms
Hip or groin pain is reproduced by rotation, pivoting or deep flexion
You need to compare anterior and posterior hip symptom response
Other hip tests such as FADIR, FABER or Scour are relevant
You are building a broader hip assessment profile
The test should be used after screening for irritability and range tolerance.
Use caution or avoid the test when:
The hip is acutely irritable
There is suspected fracture or major trauma
The client cannot tolerate passive hip movement
Recent surgery makes end-range movement inappropriate
Severe pain is present before testing
Neurological symptoms require further assessment
The professional cannot control the hip movement safely
The test position is outside the client’s comfortable range
Stop the test if sharp pain increases, the client asks to stop, or the hip cannot be moved safely.
The Fitzgerald Test usually requires no special equipment.
Optional equipment includes:
Measurz app
Pain rating scale
Plinth or firm testing surface
Notes field for test variation, movement arc and symptoms
Video recording for education or comparison if appropriate
Goniometer or inclinometer if range is measured separately
Ask the client to lie supine on a plinth or firm surface.
Explain that the hip will be moved through a controlled arc and that they should report any familiar pain, clicking, catching or symptoms.
Test the less symptomatic side first if appropriate.
The client lies supine with the pelvis relaxed and the tested leg supported by the professional.
The hip and knee are moved passively by the professional.
The professional stands beside the tested hip.
One hand supports the knee or distal thigh. The other controls the lower leg, ankle or hip position depending on the variation.
Support the client’s leg so the hip can be moved smoothly through the required arc.
Avoid gripping painfully or forcing end-range movement.
Monitor pelvic movement. Excessive pelvic rotation can reduce test consistency.
The pelvis does not need to be fixed rigidly, but the movement should come mainly from the hip.
For the anterior labral variation:
Start with the hip in flexion, abduction and external rotation.
Move the hip toward extension.
Add internal rotation and adduction through the movement arc.
Observe for anterior hip or groin pain, clicking or familiar symptoms.
For the posterior labral variation:
Start with the hip in flexion, adduction and internal rotation.
Move the hip toward extension.
Add abduction and external rotation through the movement arc.
Observe for posterior hip pain, clicking or familiar symptoms.
Movements should be slow, controlled and within tolerance.
Tell the client:
“Stay relaxed and let me move your hip. Tell me if this reproduces your familiar symptoms, where you feel it and whether you notice clicking, catching or sharp pain.”
A positive finding may include:
Familiar anterior hip or groin pain
Familiar posterior hip pain
Sharp pain during the movement arc
Clicking with familiar pain
Catching or locking sensation
Reproduction of the client’s typical mechanical symptoms
Clear side-to-side difference
Record which variation was positive.
A negative finding may include:
No familiar pain
No mechanical symptoms
No meaningful side-to-side difference
Smooth movement through the test arc
No relevant symptom reproduction
A negative finding does not fully exclude labral involvement.
Stop the test if:
Sharp pain increases
The client asks to stop
The hip cannot be moved safely
The client guards strongly
Symptoms become concerning
The test is not meaningful due to irritability
The Fitzgerald Test uses end-range combined hip positions. Avoid forcing movement, especially in irritable hips.
A positive Fitzgerald Test may increase suspicion that intra-articular hip structures, including the acetabular labrum, are relevant to the client’s symptoms. This is more meaningful when the test reproduces the client’s familiar hip or groin pain with mechanical symptoms such as clicking, catching or locking.
The anterior variation may be more relevant when symptoms are felt in the anterior hip or groin. The posterior variation may be more relevant when symptoms are felt posteriorly.
However, a positive Fitzgerald Test does not confirm a labral tear. Hip impingement, capsular irritation, muscular guarding, tendon-related symptoms, lumbar referral, pelvic contribution and other hip conditions may produce similar responses.
A negative Fitzgerald Test may decrease suspicion of labral involvement, particularly if the test has high sensitivity in the relevant population and other hip special tests are also negative. However, a negative test does not fully exclude labral pathology or intra-articular hip contribution.
The finding is more meaningful when interpreted with:
Mechanism of onset
Mechanical symptoms
Pain location
Symptom behaviour
Hip range of motion
FADIR
FABER
Scour Test
Log Roll Test
Gait
Functional tests
Imaging where relevant
Evidence for the Fitzgerald Test is limited and should be interpreted cautiously.
Systematic review summaries have reported high sensitivity for the Fitzgerald Test, approximately 0.98 to 1.00, for hip labral lesions in limited available studies. Specificity is not well established, which means a positive test may not strongly confirm the condition.
Condition or presentation: Suspected acetabular labral lesion
Population: Hip pain populations in older diagnostic accuracy studies
Test variation: Fitzgerald anterior and/or posterior labral manoeuvre
Reference standard: Imaging, arthroscopy or surgical findings depending on study
Sensitivity: Approximately 0.98–1.00 in limited evidence
Specificity: Not clearly established
Positive likelihood ratio: Not clearly available
Negative likelihood ratio: Potentially useful when sensitivity is high, but exact values are limited
Key limitations: Small or older studies, variable reference standards, limited specificity reporting and overlap with other hip conditions.
Plain-language interpretation:
A negative Fitzgerald Test may reduce suspicion when the broader assessment is also reassuring.
A positive Fitzgerald Test may support further assessment reasoning but does not confirm a labral tear.
Lack of specificity limits rule-in value.
The result is stronger when combined with history, mechanical symptoms, other hip tests and imaging where relevant.
Reliability depends on how consistently the professional positions the hip, controls the movement arc and defines a positive finding.
Reliability may improve when the professional records:
Anterior or posterior variation
Start and end positions
Pain location
Pain score
Mechanical symptoms
Whether the symptoms were familiar
Side-to-side comparison
Movement speed
Range limitation
Client irritability
Validity is limited as a stand-alone diagnostic test. The Fitzgerald Test may be valid as a symptom provocation manoeuvre for intra-articular hip reasoning, but it does not directly verify labral structure.
Common errors include:
Moving too quickly
Forcing end range
Not identifying anterior versus posterior variation
Not recording pain location
Treating any click as positive even if painless and unfamiliar
Ignoring symptom familiarity
Not comparing sides
Not combining with other hip tests
Calling the test diagnostic
Overlooking lumbar or pelvic contribution
Limitations include:
Specificity is not well established
Mechanical symptoms are not unique to labral tears
Hip morphology and imaging findings may be present without symptoms
Pain can arise from multiple structures
Test technique varies between professionals
Acute irritability can reduce usefulness
A single positive test should not guide decisions alone
The Fitzgerald Test may be useful for:
Hip and groin assessment
Labral assessment reasoning
Mechanical symptom documentation
Anterior versus posterior symptom provocation
Side-to-side comparison
Baseline and retest records
Client education
Deciding whether further assessment may be appropriate
In Measurz, Fitzgerald Test findings can be recorded alongside FADIR, FABER, Scour Test, Log Roll Test, hip range of motion, hip strength, squat assessment, gait and sport-specific movement tests.
Record:
Test name: Fitzgerald Test
Variation: anterior or posterior
Side tested
Result: positive, negative, unclear or unable to test
Pain score
Symptom location
Symptom quality
Familiar symptom reproduction
Clicking, catching or locking
Painful arc point
Range limitation
Movement direction
Comparison side
Irritability
Guarding or compensations
Reason for stopping if relevant
Related findings
Confidence in result
Further assessment notes if appropriate
Retest date if relevant
Recording these details improves repeatability, communication, client education, assessment reasoning, monitoring over time, team consistency and reporting quality.
FADIR Test
FABER Test
Scour Test
Log Roll Test
Hip range of motion
Hip internal rotation
Hip flexion
Hip strength testing
Single-leg squat
Gait assessment
Toe Touch Test
It is used to support assessment reasoning around possible hip labral involvement by reproducing hip or groin symptoms during combined movement arcs.
Yes. The anterior variation stresses the anterior labral region, while the posterior variation is used for posterior labral symptom provocation.
A positive finding may include familiar pain, sharp hip or groin pain, clicking, catching or reproduction of the client’s typical symptoms.
No. It may increase suspicion, but it does not confirm a labral tear.
No. A negative result may reduce suspicion in some contexts, but it does not fully exclude labral involvement.
No. Clicking is more meaningful when it is familiar, painful or associated with the client’s typical symptoms.
It should not be forced into pain. Familiar symptom reproduction should be recorded, but the test should remain controlled and safe.
History, mechanical symptoms, FADIR, FABER, Scour, Log Roll, hip range of motion, strength testing and functional assessment.
The Fitzgerald Test is a hip special test used for anterior and posterior labral assessment reasoning.
A positive finding may include familiar hip or groin pain, clicking, catching or mechanical symptom reproduction.
Sensitivity has been reported as high in limited studies, but specificity is not well established.
A positive result does not confirm a labral tear.
A negative result does not fully exclude labral involvement.
Measurz recording should include variation, side, pain location, mechanical symptoms, movement arc and comparison side.
Burgess, R. M., Rushton, A., Wright, C., & Daborn, C. (2011). The validity and accuracy of clinical diagnostic tests used to detect labral pathology of the hip: A systematic review. Manual Therapy, 16(4), 318–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2011.01.004
Fitzgerald, R. H. (1995). Acetabular labrum tears: Diagnosis and treatment. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 311, 60–68. PMID: 7634592
Leibold, M. R., Huijbregts, P. A., & Jensen, R. (2008). Concurrent criterion-related validity of physical examination tests for hip labral lesions: A systematic review. Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, 16(2), E24–E41. https://doi.org/10.1179/jmt.2008.16.2.24E
Reiman, M. P., Goode, A. P., Hegedus, E. J., Cook, C. E., & Wright, A. A. (2013). Diagnostic accuracy of clinical tests of the hip: A systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47(14), 893–902. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2012-091035
Reiman, M. P., Goode, A. P., Cook, C. E., Hölmich, P., & Thorborg, K. (2015). Diagnostic accuracy of clinical tests for the diagnosis of hip femoroacetabular impingement/labral tear: A systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(12), 811. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094302
