What is Buerger's angle and Buerger's Test?
Buerger’s angle does not exist in healthy individuals. Those people who suffer from hip pain have Buerger’s angle. To find out Buerger’s angle, ask the patient to lie down straight on a flat and even surface i.e bed. Now check the location of hip pain. Gradually, flex the hip but make sure to keep the leg straight. Soon the leg will turn white. As soon as you notice the leg turning white, notice the angle. This angle is Buerger’s angle. Buerger’s angle indicates the severity of Peripheral Arterial Disease. Lower the angle, higher the severity of PAD. In Buerger’s test, tell the patient to sit and hang their legs down the bed. If the legs of patient turn purple-red and painful, the Buerger’s test is positive.
If I'm not mistaken, Buerger's test is a test for arterial sufficiency of the lower limbs which involves asking the patient to raise the symptomatic limb. Upon doing so, the limb goes white due to blood supply being cut off even more. When the leg is returned to resting position, colour is restored.