The Valgus stress test is a test for ligament

Ligament

In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...

 damage. It involves placing the leg

Leg

Łęg may refer to the following places in Poland:*A former name for the town of Ełk *Part of the Czyżyny district of Kraków*Łęg, Pleszew County in Greater Poland Voivodeship...

 into extension, with one hand placed as a pivot

Lever

In physics, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to either multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object or resistance force , or multiply the distance and speed at which the opposite end of the rigid object travels.This leverage...

 on the knee. With the other hand placed upon the foot applying an abducting

Abduction (kinesiology)

Abduction, in functional anatomy, is a movement which draws a limb away from the median plane of the body. It is thus opposed to adduction.-Upper limb:* of arm at shoulder ** Supraspinatus** Deltoid* of hand at wrist...

 force, an attempt is then made to force the leg at the knee into valgus. If the knee is seen to open up on the medial side, this is indicative of medial collateral ligament damage and may also indicate capsular or cruciate ligament laxity.

There are two versions of this test, valgus at 0 degrees and valgus at 30 degrees. When performing the test at 30 degrees, the MCL is the primary stabilizer; the joint capusle is also tested. When tested at 0 degrees, the MCL, medial joint capsule, and anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments are stressed.