
The following can be used in the shoulder:
- Empty can (tinny) test: Hold your arm out straight in front of you with the thumb facing downwards. ...
- Neer’s Test: With your arm straight out in front and the thumb pointing downwards the practitioner with passively raise your arm above your head (if it will go this far pain-free!). ...
- Hawkin’s Test: This is a more sensitive test for impingement than Neer’s test. ...
How do I perform a shoulder abduction exercise?
Shoulder abduction: Stand and hold a weight in your hand with your palm facing your body. Slowly raise your arm to the side with your thumb pointing up. Then raise your arm over your head as far as you can without pain.
How do you perform a shoulder flexion test?
The examiner asks the patient tomake an active or passive abduction of the shoulder, flexes the elbow, and places the palm of the hand on the top of the patient head(elevate the arm through abduction, so that the hand or forearm rests on top of the head). The patient is asked to maintain this position for 30 seconds.
What is arm abduction (shoulder abduction)?
What does Arm Abduction Mean? Arm abduction, also known as shoulder abduction, is the movement of the arm away from the body in the same plane of your chest. The best example is to have your arms straight by your sides and then lifting them up in the same plane as your chest, like doing a jumping jack.
How do you test for shoulder adductor strain?
Have the patient flexing the upper extremity forward to 90°. From this position, ask the patient to maximally adduct the shoulder by moving the arm horizontally all the way to the other side. Make sure to test one side at a time.

How do you test for shoulder abduction?
0:211:48Manual Muscle Test for Shoulder Abduction - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf the patient can hold against maximal resistance they earn a grade of five if they can holdMoreIf the patient can hold against maximal resistance they earn a grade of five if they can hold against strong to moderate resistance they earn a grade of four lift the arm out to the side.
How do you test for shoulder adduction?
Performing the Test: The examiner should stand behind the patient on the side being tested. Grasp the patient's arm just disal to the elbow and passively flex the patient's shoulder to 90 degrees. Then maximally adduct the patient's shoulder (bring it across their body towards the other shoulder).
What does abduction of the shoulder look like?
0:002:18Shoulder Abduction | Muscle Action | Anatomy Upper Extremity - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAway from the midline.MoreAway from the midline.
How do you explain shoulder abduction?
Shoulder abduction involves the rotation of the shoulder joint in such a way as to move the arm straight out and away from the body. This anatomical term of motion refers specifically to the movement of the arm away from the midline of the body. Workers reaching for supplies, tools, or products may make this motion.
What is adduction vs abduction?
Adduction and abduction movements are two sides of the same coin: Adduction exercises involve bringing your limbs towards the midline of your body, like with inner thigh lifts, while abduction exercises involve moving your limbs away from your body, like with side leg lifts.
What muscles do shoulder abduction?
The primary muscles involved in the action of arm abduction include the supraspinatus, deltoid, trapezius, and serratus anterior.
What type of movement is shoulder abduction?
Abduction: upward lateral movement of humerus out to the side, away from the body, in the plane of the scapula. Adduction: downward movement of humerus medially toward the body from abduction, in the plane of the scapula. Flexion: the movement of humerus straight anteriorly.
How do you perform an abduction?
Raising your arms to the side, rotating your wrist so your palm is forward, kicking your leg to the side, moving your knees apart, and spreading your fingers and toes are all examples of abduction.
What is adduction of shoulder?
Shoulder Adduction is when the arm is moving towards the middle of the body. Shoulder Adduction is the opposite of Shoulder Abduction.
How do you do shoulder abduction and adduction?
0:080:58Passive Shoulder Abduction and Adduction (Side to Side) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipMove the person's arm up to the side as far as is comfortable keeping their palm facing forwardsMoreMove the person's arm up to the side as far as is comfortable keeping their palm facing forwards then slowly lower the arm back down to the person's. Side repeat until you have finished.
What causes weak shoulder abduction?
Weakness of the shoulder can come from deficits in coordination nerve muscle or tendon. Often weak shoulders will respond to a gradually progressive strengthening program. If shoulder weakness does not respond to these exercises it may be due to a rotator cuff problem or a nerve injury.
What is adduction of the shoulder?
Shoulder adduction occurs when you move your arms towards the middle of the body. If you hug yourself, your shoulders are adducting. A normal range of movement for shoulder adduction is 30 to 50 degrees depending on flexibility and body composition.
How do you test for shoulder flexion?
In this test the patient is asked to first extend the elbow and fully supinate the forearm. Then the patient is asked to flex the shoulder forward against the resistance of the examiner. At the same time, the examiner should palpate the anterior joint line for any tenderness.
What is a positive Hawkins Kennedy test?
The Hawkins Kennedy test is used to assess shoulder impingement. In this test the clinician stabilizes the shoulder with one hand and, with the patient's elbow flexed at 90 degrees, internally rotates the shoulder using the other hand. Shoulder pain elicited by internal rotation represents a positive test.
What does positive scarf test mean?
This test is considered positive if the maneuver successfully reproduces the patient's symptoms of pain localized over the AC joint. A positive test is usually suggestive of AC joint osteoarthritis or a ligamentous injury to the AC joint (i.e., ligament sprain or joint separation).
What Are Shoulder Abduction and Adduction Exercises?
Shoulder abduction and adduction exercises work the muscles at the back of your shoulder and your upper back.
What Should I Do Before I Exercise?
Warm up and stretch before you exercise. Walk or ride a stationary bike for 5 to 10 minutes to help you warm up. Stretching helps increase range of...
How Do I Exercise With A Weight?
Your healthcare provider will tell you how much weight to use. 1. Shoulder abduction: Stand and hold a weight in your hand with your palm facing yo...
How Do I Exercise With An Exercise Band?
1. Shoulder abduction: Wrap the exercise band around a heavy, stable object near your foot. Grab the band with the hand of your injured shoulder. K...
When Should I Contact My Healthcare Provider?
1. You have sharp or worsening pain during exercise or at rest. 2. You have questions or concerns about your shoulder exercises.
What is Shoulder Abduction Test?from orthofixar.com
Shoulder Abduction Test (or as it called Bakody Sign) is used in case of suspicion of C4 or C5 nerve root irritation. It can also be used for thoracic outlet syndrome.
How long should shoulder abduction be held?from dynamicchiropractic.com
Once the patient is in the testing position, the position should be held for 5-10 seconds to allow symptoms to dissipate or resolve. During this time, the doctor should ask the patient, "Does this bother you or have any effect on you?" This is a good general question for orthopedic testing. The question allows the patient to respond to any symptom or change experienced. The information can then be interpreted by the doctor. The question avoids unintentionally directing the patient to a specific response, providing more objectivity.
What does it mean when a radicular arm test is positive?from dynamicchiropractic.com
For the test to be truly positive, the patient's arm pain must dissipate or resolve. The testing maneuver has a palliative effect on radicular arm pain. Pain should not increase if the pathology is radicular in nature, and the test is not positive if pain decreases or increases in any other areas.
What is cervical distraction?from dynamicchiropractic.com
The cervical distraction test is a palliative orthopedic test intended , like the shoulder abduction test, to relieve the symptoms of a cervical radicular pathology. The test is performed by the examiner distracting the patient's head in an inferior to superior direction. The test is meant to open or increase the diameter of the intervertebral foramen to relieve nerve-root irritation.
What is cervical compression test?from dynamicchiropractic.com
The mechanism of the cervical compression test is compression of the cervical spine by the examiner. Superior-to-inferior pressure is placed on the top of the patient's head for a few seconds. This is intended to decrease the size of the intervertebral foramen, causing nerve-root irritation, and reproduces or increases the patient's arm pain.
What is a Nicholas muscle test?from nismat.org
The Nicholas MMT is a hand held device which quantifies the “breaking force” necessary to depress a limb held in a specific position by the patient. It is designed to be easily held in the palm of the hand and reports ...
Where should a curved plate be placed?from nismat.org
POINTS TO REMEMBER: position the curved plate just proximal to the top of the patella (not on the patella), do not impact the leg into the bench, have the subject maintain a torso position that is perpendicular to the table, have the patient grip the sides of the table for stabilization, examiner should use two hands if necessary.
How to abduct a shoulder?
Shoulder abduction: Wrap the exercise band around a heavy, stable object near your foot. Grab the band with the hand of your injured shoulder. Keep your arm straight. Slowly raise your arm to the side with your thumb pointing up. Then, slowly pull the band over your head as far as you can without pain.
What are shoulder abduction and adduction exercises?
Shoulder abduction and adduction exercises work the muscles at the back of your shoulder and your upper back.
How to stretch your arm for a crossover?
Crossover arm stretch: Relax your shoulders. Hold your upper arm with the opposite hand. Pull your arm across your chest until you feel a stretch. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Shoulder flexion stretch: Stand facing a wall. Slowly walk your fingers up the wall until you feel a stretch.
How to use a band for exercise?
How do I exercise with an exercise band? 1 Shoulder abduction: Wrap the exercise band around a heavy, stable object near your foot. Grab the band with the hand of your injured shoulder. Keep your arm straight. Slowly raise your arm to the side with your thumb pointing up. Then, slowly pull the band over your head as far as you can without pain. Do not raise your arm over your head unless your healthcare provider says it is okay. Do not let your shoulder shrug. Hold this position for as long as directed. Slowly return to the starting position. 2 #N##N# 3 Shoulder adduction: Wrap the exercise band around a heavy, stable object. Stand and face away from where the band is anchored. Hold each end of the band in both hands with your elbows bent. Your elbows should not be behind your body. Keep your arms parallel to the floor and slowly straighten your elbows. Hold this position for as long as directed. Slowly return to the starting position.
How to stretch your arm when you have a sprain?
Slowly walk your fingers up the wall until you feel a stretch. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Sleeper stretch: Lie on your injured side on a firm, flat surface. Bend the elbow of your injured arm 90° with your hand facing up.
How to abduct your arm?
Shoulder abduction: Stand and hold a weight in your hand with your palm facing your body. Slowly raise your arm to the side with your thumb pointing up. Then raise your arm over your head as far as you can without pain.
How to get rid of a swollen shoulder?
Hold this position for as long as directed. Slowly return to the starting position. Shoulder adduction: Wrap the exercise band around a heavy, stable object.
Does C6 radiculopathy cause shoulder abduction?from pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A patient with C6 cervical radiculopathy reported that sustained shoulder abduction significantly diminished this upper extremity pain. The patient was instructed to adopt this position for prolonged periods during rest and at work. Pain relief was temporary and lasted as long as the arm was in abdu …
Can shoulder abduction cause pain?from pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A patient with C6 cervical radiculopathy reported that sustained shoulder abduction significantly diminished this upper extremity pain. The patient was instructed to adopt this position for prolonged periods during rest and at work. Pain relief was temporary and lasted as long as the arm was in abduction. Relief of pain, induced by arm abduction, may be observed in cervical radiculopathy in which the lower cervical roots are involved. Reduced tension at the nerve root is the probable underlying mechanism that leads to pain relief. Shoulder abduction can be used not only as a diagnostic sign but also may be incorporated in the conservative management of patients suffering from cervical radiculopathy affecting the lower cervical roots.
Where to inspect shoulder?
Inspect the front, the back and the side of the shoulder.
What to look for in a shoulder?
In examining a patient with a painful shoulder we should start with a general inspection, looking for musculoskeletal abnormalities and any associated functional deficits. Then, we can carry on some specialized tests that will help us uncover any lesions of the muscular or ligamentous structures of the joint.
How to test for subscapularis tendon tear?
To test for the presence of a subscapularis tendon tear, first have the patient to bring the hand on the back at the level of the lumbar region. Then, passively separate the hand from the back until full internal rotation of the shoulder is achieved. At this point ask the patient to actively keep the hand away from the back. If the patient is unable to do so, this is evidence of a subscapularis tendon tear and it is called positive internal rotation lag sign.
When rotator cuff pathology is suspected, can we use some maneuvers to test the integrity of the?
When rotator cuff pathology is suspected, we can use some maneuvers to test the integrity of the four tendons that make up the cuff:
What is the goal of a shoulder inspection?
Our goal is to identify any abnormalities in the muscle bulk or any asymmetrical bony defects.
How to adduct shoulder?
From this position, ask the patient to maximally adduct the shoulder by moving the arm horizontally all the way to the other side. Make sure to test one side at a time.
What is the importance of cervical spine examination before shoulder surgery?
Before proceeding with the examination of the shoulder it is very important to complete a full examination of the cervical spine to make sure that no spinal pathologies are contributing to the presentation. We should at the very least check for cervical spinal tenderness, by palpating the cervical spinous processes, and the range of motion of the neck in flexion, extension and rotation.
What muscles abduct the shoulder?
What are the muscles that abduct the shoulder? The shoulder abduction muscles are Supraspinatus, Deltoid, Trapezius, and Serratus Anterior.
What is Arm Abduction? What does Arm Abduction Mean?
Arm abduction, also known as shoulder abduction, is the movement of the arm away from the body in the same plane of your chest. The best example is to have your arms straight by your sides and then lifting them up in the same plane as your chest, like doing a jumping jack. Do not lift your arms in front of you or behind you – that is not arm abduction but rather arm flexion or arm extension, respectively.
How many degrees can a muscle abduct?
This muscle can abduct the arm greater than > 100 degrees (USMLE First Aid), or from 160 degrees to 180 degrees (160-180 degrees) (Penn State). Advertisements.
Which muscle is responsible for abduction of the arm?
Trapezius is the third shoulder muscle responsible for arm abduction. The trapezius abducts the arm from 90 degrees to 160 degrees (90-160 degrees) (Penn State), or also just greater than >90 degrees (USMLE First Aid) ( Lam et al 2019 ). Serratus Anterior is the last shoulder muscle responsible for arm abduction.
What muscle is used to test for shoulder weakness?
Shoulder Weakness When Lifting Your Arm to the Side – Supraspinatus Muscle Test. This video shows you how to test for shoulder weakness in your rotator cuff supraspinatus muscle. The supraspinatus (S in the SITS acronym) is the most common injured muscle of the rotator cuff. If you have pain lifting your arm to the side, overhead, ...
Why is my shoulder weak?
Pain-Related Weakness – Your shoulder might be weak because it’s really painful to hold your arm against resistance. It may not be that you can’t hold against resistance, but that you quit resisting because it’s too painful. Neurological Weakness – Neurological weakness may be part of your rotator cuff weakness.
What Shoulder Problems Can Cause Rotator Cuff Weakness?
Most causes of shoulder weakness and pain aren’t traumatic and develop over time. You’re probably familiar with the big causes of weakness (like rotator cuff tear) but less familiar with other causes. Here’s a list of the most common causes of shoulder weakness, keep in mind that it’s not an exhaustive list.
What does it mean when your helper pushes your arm?
It’s a fairly simple process in which your helper will be pushing your arm in one way while you’re resisting their pressure in the other direction. If you’re unable to resist at all, or maybe can’t provide the same resistance compared to the other shoulder you have weakness in that rotator cuff muscle.
Where does the rotator cuff hurt?
Typically this will produce pain underneath the shoulder blade or in the armpit. If you’re reaching back like when putting your seatbelt on or reaching into the back of the car you may notice weakness in this rotator cuff muscle.
Can shoulder impingement cause weakness?
Shoulder impingement can sometimes cause shoulder muscle weakness in the supraspinatus rotator cuff muscle . Here’s some information on treatment for shoulder impingement:
Can rotator cuff tears cause shoulder pain?
Also, keep in mind that you may have pain or weakness in multiple muscles of the rotator cuff, this is not uncommon. Maybe you’re not sure you have shoulder weakness but ARE sure you have shoulder tightness. Check out my content –> Dry Needling for Shoulder Tightness. If your rotator cuff IS weak, you may have a shoulder labrum tear (hopefully not!)
How to tell if your shoulder is impinging?
The main symptom of shoulder impingement is sudden pain in your shoulder when you lift your arm overhead or backward. Other symptoms include: 1 minor but constant pain in your arm 2 pain that goes from the front of your shoulder to the side of your arm 3 pain that gets worse at night 4 shoulder or arm weakness
How to help shoulder recurrence?
If you’re an athlete or work in a field that requires frequent use of your shoulder, your physical therapist can teach you proper techniques to reduce your chance of recurrence. They may also give you some exercises that you can do at home, which may help you recover faster. Just make sure you don’t overdo it.
What is the rotator cuff?
Your rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that attach your upper arm bone to your shoulder. They help you lift and rotate your arm. The rotator cuff sits under the top of the shoulder, which is called the acromion. If you have shoulder impingement, your rotator cuff catches or rubs against the acromion.
How to stop shoulder pain from swelling?
This can lead to more weakness and stiffness in your shoulder. Try placing an ice pack on your shoulder for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, a few times a day, to reduce pain and any swelling you might have.
Why does my shoulder impinge?
Many cases of shoulder impingement are caused by overuse. Repeated use of the shoulder can make the tendons in your shoulder swell, leading them to “catch” on your upper shoulder bone. In other cases, there’s no known cause.
What happens when you lift your arm?
When you lift your arm, the space (bursa) between the rotator cuff and acromion narrows, which increases pressure. The increased pressure irritates the rotator cuff, leading to impingement.
How do you know if you have a swollen arm?
Other symptoms include: minor but constant pain in your arm. pain that goes from the front of your shoulder to the side of your arm. pain that gets worse at night. shoulder or arm weakness.
