Clinic Readiness Practice Test 2026 – Your All-in-One Guide to Achieving Clinic Preparedness Success!

Palpating the hamstrings is best done with the patient lying face down so you have direct access to the back of the thigh. Start near the knee where the tendons and muscle insert, and progress upward toward the hip. Moving from distal to proximal lets you follow the actual course of the muscle fibers, feel the different hamstring components as you advance, and detect tenderness, tension, or fullness along their length. Positioning the patient in other ways—such as lying on the back—makes the posterior thigh harder to reach, and moving the foot (plantarflexion or dorsiflexion) changes leg tension in ways that don’t specifically aid locating or assessing the hamstrings.