Ortolani test

Hip extension is typically quite uncomfortable for these pets, and you may also find reduced overall range of motion in the joint when you manipulate it.

The Ortolani test is one of the classic tests to assess hip laxity.

So this test basically assesses whether the femoral head can be subluxated, which we said earlier is basically, does it move outside of normal alignment within the joint? And then can it be reduced back into the acetabulum? So pressure is applied along the femur to push the femoral head dorsally, and then the limb is abducted.

If the hip is lax, the femoral head may reduce back into acetabulum with a palpable or audible little clunk.

The autolining test can be very useful but tense muscles can mask joint laxity because it temporarily supports around the joint and then pain can also make the dog resist any movement so it may not be an accurate test to perform in an awake anxious puppy.

So laxity testing is often performed under sedation and this is obviously going to be better for accuracy and much better for patient comfort as well.

The other thing to note with the Ortolani test is that a negative sign does not completely rule out hip dysplasia.

So in very chronic cases, for example, with capsular thickening, osteoarthritis and remodeling, these can all reduce the ability to elicit the sign, even if the dog does have significant disease.