During the toe touch test, when the knees are kept straight, which movement pattern is primarily assessed?

• A. Lumbar flexion only
• B. Hip hinge
• C. Multi segmental flexion
• D. Thoracic flexion

Answer: (C)

When the knees stay straight, reaching toward the toes is achieved by bending through several body segments in a coordinated way, not by moving just one area. The hips hinge forward as the pelvis tilts, while the spine progressively flexes at multiple levels (lumbar first, then thoracic), allowing the upper body to fold toward the thighs. This combination of hip movement with spinal flexion across more than one segment is what the toe touch test with straight knees mainly assesses. If you relied only on bending at the hips, or only on lumbar or thoracic flexion, you wouldn’t fully capture how the body coordinates multiple segments to achieve the forward fold.