Performing Prone Instability Test Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes Now

Alright folks, grab a coffee. Been testing that Prone Instability Test thing out in my garage setup today after watching like ten YouTube videos. Wanted to get it right, you know? So here’s how it went down.

Gearing Up

First, dug out my old camping mat – yeah, the one covered in mysterious stains from last summer. Good enough. Grabbed my patient buddy Dave (owe him pizza now) and told him to lie face down. Simple start.

The First Try (Epic Fail)

Jumped right in thinking it was just pressing on the back and lifting a leg. Pushed down on Dave’s lower back like I was trying to squash a bug. Big mistake number one: Leaned my whole weight into it. Dave grunted. Not a good sign. Then I yelled “Lift your leg, Dave!” like a drill sergeant. He jerked it up wild, knee all bent and shaky. Mistake number two: Totally forgot he needed to do it slow and controlled. Whole thing felt useless.

Watchin’ & Re-Tryin’

Scratched my head. Pulled up a vid again on my phone. Realized the pressing part ain’t about crushing your patient. So next round, I just rested my hand firmly on Dave’s spine, way lighter. Felt like I was just reminding him “Hey, spine here.” Better. Told Dave this time “Easy does it, lift slow like you got weights on your ankle.” Less flailing, smoother lift. Progress!

Performing Prone Instability Test Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes Now

The Sneaky Third Blunder

Dave mumbled something halfway through. Sounded like “dunno man… feels weird.” Almost plowed right past it! Mistake three warning bell: Ignoring what the dude on the table says. Stopped everything. Asked “What kinda weird? Hurting? Shaky?” Turns out he meant cramping in his calf. Totally different thing! Learned to actually listen to the words. Crucial.

Wrapping It Up

Few tries later, after chilling out on the pressure, coaching Dave slow, and actually hearing him out, things smoothed over. Looks easy but ain’t. So the three hot messes I almost made today?

  • Pressin’ like Thor’s hammer. Nope. Gentle reminder pressure only.
  • Lettin’ the leg fly like a kite. Control that lift, slow motion style.
  • Blah blah blah – ignoring the patient. What they feel is the whole damn point. Listen!

Wasted my whole evening, but figured it out. Practice sucks sometimes, but worth it. Dave got his pizza eventually. Still grumbling about the ‘bug squashing’ part though.