A patient with suspected functional weakness of the left leg lies supine. When asked to raise the unaffected right leg against resistance, the examiner notes involuntary contraction of the left hip extensors. Which bedside sign has this finding just demonstrated?

• A Babinski sign
• B Hoover sign ✓
• C Chvostek sign
• D Froment sign

Explanation

Hoover sign exploits the automatic hip extension that accompanies voluntary flexion of the opposite leg. In organic hemiplegia the paretic limb shows this involuntary movement, whereas in functional weakness the movement is absent when attention is directed at the weak limb despite apparent paralysis on direct testing, revealing internal inconsistency between automatic and voluntary motor pathways.

Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 11th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.