The scour test is usually done when a patient has hip pain of unknown cause. The examiner bends the patient's leg up so the knee is pointing to the shoulder. The examiner moves (scours) the hip in an arc of motion while putting pressure down through the leg into the hip joint.

The object is to look for any "catches" or bumps in the joint movement. Pain or apprehension on the part of the client are also positive findings during the scour test. This tells the doctor or therapist that the problem is coming from the hip joint and not some other source.