1 Before you use it
What it is
A tape-measure test of lumbar flexion. In the modified version, mark the lumbosacral junction, then 10 cm above and 5 cm below; measure the increase in that 15 cm span on full forward flexion.
When to reach for it
Suspected or established axial spondyloarthritis, as part of the mobility picture — alongside BASMI, which formalises the same idea across several measurements.
Also useful as an objective re-test in stiffness-dominant low back presentations.
2 Giving it
Scoring
Record the increase in centimetres. Around 5 cm or more of increase is the conventional expectation — but the figure varies with technique and population.
Record your technique, because the original and modified versions are different tests and are not comparable.
What it doesn’t measure
It does not isolate lumbar movement — hip flexion and skin stretch both contaminate it. And it does not diagnose anything.
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
No verified normative values are carried in our library and none are printed here.
Its real use is serial, within one patient, measured the same way each time. A reduced and progressively reducing Schober in a young adult with inflammatory back pain features is meaningful; a single number in isolation is not.
Is the change real?
Student trap. Comparing your modified Schober to someone else's original Schober. Different landmarks, different numbers, no relationship.
Official source: null. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
Did this page do its job?
CliniStudy is in beta. One tap is enough — it decides what gets fixed first.