Quantitative examination of the lower limb peripheral nervous system mobility using the neurodynamic test

[Purpose] A quantitative examination of the lower limb peripheral nervous system mobility (MON) was performed using the neurodynamic test. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were 10 adult male subjects. The neural dynamics of the proximal and distal bifurcations of the tibial nerve in straight leg raises (SLR) of 0 and 45°, passive neck flexion (PNF), and ankle plantar flexion (PF) of 10° and dorsiflexion (DF) of 15° were examined using an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus. MON was defined as the difference between PNF of PF and DF at maximal SLR, and the neurodynamics and proximal/distal ratio were investigated. [Results] In DF at SLR of 0˚, the tibial nerve moved to the caudal side, and to the head side in the other conditions; and at SLR of 45°, there was a significant difference between the proximal and distal positions in PNF of DF. A strong negative correlation was found between the difference between PNF of PF and DF at maximal SLR and the proximal/distal ratio. [Conclusion] The nerve stretched after gliding against the increase in tension. The difference between PNF of PF and DF at maximal SLR suggested the possibility of quantitative evaluation of MON.