With the patient lying supine, a nurse raises the patient's leg to flex the hip. The patient complains of pain when the leg is raised to 40 degrees. The nurse correlates this finding with which disorder?

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To evaluate for nerve root irritation or lumbar disk herniation, perform straight leg raises. Pain in the back of the leg with 30 to 60 degrees of elevation indicates pressure on a lumbar peripheral nerve by an intervertebral disk. Straight leg raises evaluate for herniated disks, but not in the cervical disks in the neck. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of articular cartilage that affects weight-bearing joints such as vertebrae, hips, knees, and ankles. Straight leg raises is not a technique to assess for osteoarthritis. Bursa become inflamed by constant friction around joints and may be precipitated by arthritis or injury. The hip is a common site, but not vertebrae. Manifestations include painful range of motion, point tenderness, and erythema of the affected joint.

With the Patient Lying Supine, a Nurse Raises the Patient's