Execution
- 1Position the athlete supine with both knees extended.
- 2Ask the athlete to keep the legs straight and perform a sit-up or trunk curl.
- 3Stabilize the feet if required to standardize the effort.
- 4Observe abdominal wall control and ask where pain is reproduced.
- 5Record reproduction of lower abdominal, pubic, inguinal, or adductor-region pain.
Positive outcome
Reproduction of the athlete’s familiar lower abdominal, pubic, or groin pain during the straight-leg sit-up is positive. Pain should be localized because hip flexor, adductor, pubic, and abdominal wall sources can overlap. The test is not specific for a single structure.
CommentCore muscle injury testing comes mainly from athletic groin pain literature rather than classic Magee diagnostic-accuracy tables. The straight-leg sit-up loads the anterior abdominal wall and hip flexor-adductor complex together. Use it as a symptom reproduction test in a groin pain classification workup, not as a standalone diagnosis.
Low Clinical Value