← Back
Exam by body system

How to examine the hip

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPA
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Hip pain can come from the joint, the lower back or the groin. A structured exam tells them apart.

Step by step

  1. Introduce yourself and expose

    Get consent, gown, both legs visible. [1]

  2. Gait

    Limp, short steps on the painful side, trunk leaning. [2]

  3. Trendelenburg test

    Stand on one leg: the opposite side of the pelvis should not drop. [2]

  4. Look and feel

    Scars, wasting, leg rotation; tenderness over the greater trochanter. [2]

  5. Range of motion

    Flexion, internal and external rotation, abduction. Loss of internal rotation is an early sign of hip arthritis. [2]

  6. Leg length

    From the front of the pelvis to the inner ankle. [1]

  7. Special tests

    FABER (sacroiliac or hip), and check the back and knee. [2]

Common errors

Practice it in Making Synapses

In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

Making Synapses cases that train this skill

13 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  2. Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)
  3. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.