Anterior Drawer Test:

The anterior drawer test is performed with the knee flexed to

approximately 80º - 90º. Ideally, the patient's foot should point
straight ahead and should be secure. We prefer to sit directly on the
toes to secure them. The hands are then directly placed around the proximal
tibia with the thumbs placed around the region of the tibial tubercle.
A gentle to and for rocking motion is then performed in an attempt to determine
the amount of anterior translation that occurs of the tibia on the distal femur.
It is essential for this test to make the patient has completely relaxed his/he
r
hamstrings or a potential false negative result could occur. Increased anterior
translation
of the injured knee (compared to the normal contralateral knee) would be indicat
ive of a
potential ACL tear, deficient posterior horns of the menisci, or meniscocapsula
r tears
( or any combination of these).