Which hip maneuver provokes symptoms most consistent with hip labral pathology?

• A. FADIR test
• B. FABER test
• C. Obers test
• D. Patrick test

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that a labral tear in the hip is best provoked by placing the hip into a position that pinches the anterior-superior rim of the acetabulum against the femoral head. The FADIR maneuver does exactly that: it moves the hip into flexion, adduction, and internal rotation, which brings the femoral head-neck junction into close contact with the acetabular rim. If a labrum is torn or there is femoroacetabular impingement, this contact stirs up pain and can reproduce the patient’s deep groin discomfort, sometimes with a click or catching. That direct pinching mechanism is why this test is most consistent with hip labral pathology.

The other maneuvers stress different structures. The FABER (Patrick) position — flexion, abduction, external rotation — tends to place tension on the anterior hip capsule or stress the sacroiliac region and can help distinguish intra-articular from extra-articular pain, but it’s less specific for the labrum. The Ober test assesses tightness of the iliotibial band rather than the joint itself. The Patrick test is another name for FABER, and while it can elicit pain with hip pathology, it does not target the labral pinch as directly as FADIR.