Phalen's Test

Phalen’s Test
Test Procedure:
• Examiner passively flexes patient’s wrists into full flexion for 1 minute. Elbows are in less than 45° of flexion, and arms are relaxed
Positive results:
• Increased numbness and tingling in the distribution of the median nerve distal to the transverse carpal ligament
Negative Results:
• No change; or wrist pain
Implications of positive test result:
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• The examiner can also record when the patient noticed increasing N/T as a way of grading the result.
Psychometric Properties: (MacDermid & Wessel, 2004)
Sensitivity: 0.68 Specificity: 0.73
LR+: 2.5 LR-: 0.4
MacDermid, J. C., & Wessel, J. (2004). Clinical diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: a systematic review. J Hand Ther, 17(2), 309-319. doi:10.1197/j.jht.2004.02.015

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