The Sweep test examines excess fluid or swelling in the knee joint.
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To perform the sweep test for identifying joint effusion or excess fluid in the knee causing swelling, focus on the fluid and swelling in the supra patellar bursa inside the knee. Follow these instructions:
- Start the test by positioning the patient so you can easily access the knee.
- With your hands, push the fluid out of the knee area by sweeping upwards two or three times. This step moves the fluid from the swollen area.
- Next, sweep downwards on the outside of the thigh toward the knee. This action aims to push any fluid you moved upwards back toward the knee, into the inner pocket.
- Watch for any fluid appearing in the pocket on the inside of the knee. Seeing fluid appear there indicates a positive test result, confirming the presence of excess fluid in the knee.
