The L2 myotome is tested by hip flexion, the ISNCSCI key movement for L2, through the iliopsoas. L2 also helps hip adduction and knee extension. Iliopsoas receives fibres directly from the lumbar plexus and through the femoral nerve.
| Nerve root | L2 |
|---|---|
| Area | Hip flexion (ISNCSCI key muscles: hip flexors) |
| How to test | The supine or seated patient lifts the thigh toward the chest while the examiner presses down above the knee. Strength is graded 0-5 on the Medical Research Council scale and compared side to side. |
| Muscles | |
| Nerve Supply | Femoral nerve; Direct branches of the lumbar plexus |
Bends the hip, lifting the thigh toward the trunk.
Upper lumbar radiculopathy at L2 causes weak hip flexion with anterior thigh pain. Hip flexion weakness can also come from hip joint disease, a psoas abscess or haematoma, or a cord lesion, so the full neurological pattern matters. Myotome charts vary slightly between sources, and most muscles receive more than one root, so a single root lesion usually weakens rather than paralyses.
Compression of the L2 root causing weak hip flexion and anterior thigh pain and numbness.
Bleeding or infection in the psoas can compress lumbar plexus fibres, causing painful hip flexion weakness.
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