Neural Tube Defects Myelomeningocele/Spina Bifida Practice Test

Leg position at rest mirrors the level of spinal involvement—the higher the lesion, the more dramatic the abnormal posture in the legs. A frog-leg posture—hips flexed and abducted with knees flexed and feet rotated outward—signals a high spinal involvement, such as the thoracic level. When control from higher up is lost, the muscles around the hips and thighs balance in a way that leaves the legs in this flexed, externally rotated stance. Lower-level lesions tend to produce different configurations because more distal muscles are affected and the patterns of weakness and spasticity shift accordingly. So, the frog-leg resting posture is most consistent with a thoracic-level lesion, reflecting widespread disruption of supraspinal control over the lower limbs.