Advancement of Supine Heel Slide Exercise

  • The patient is lying supine with their hips and knees flexed and the feet flat on the table.
  • Instruct the patient to find a neutral lumbar spine position, midway between 12:00 and 6:00, monitoring the ASISs with their thumbs.
  • Have the patient draw their belly in without flattening the low back (the ASISs should not move when they draw the belly in).
  • Instruct the patient to slowly extend their right leg keeping the foot off the table while monitoring the ASISs. The patient tries to touch their heel to the table only after the leg is extended. They then bring the leg back up with the foot remaining off the table. The right ASIS should remain stable as the right leg is extended. If the ASIS moves inferiorly, the patient should stop, and bring the leg back up to the starting position.
  • Goal – the patient should be able to fully straighten either leg without the ASISs moving and touch their heel to the table while maintaining a neutral lumbar spine.
  • They repeat the exercise 3-5 times initially and increase repetitions as their performance improves.
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