During thoracic and lumbar ROM assessment, which instruction corresponds to rotation?

• A. Turn at your waist to the right as far as you can
• B. Touch your toes
• C. Lean back as far as you can
• D. Slide your right hand down the side of your leg

Answer: (A)

Rotational ROM of the thoracic and lumbar spine is tested by twisting the trunk around a vertical axis. The instruction to turn at the waist to the right as far as you can prompts the upper body to rotate while the pelvis remains relatively stable, isolating spinal rotation rather than bending forward or backward. This distinguishes it from the other actions: touching your toes mainly assesses forward bending (flexion) of the spine and hips; leaning back assesses backward bending (extension); sliding a hand down the side of the leg involves lateral bending and can also engage hip movement, not pure rotation.