Cervical rotation <60° (towards symptomatic side)

For: Cervical radiculopathy

Irritation or compression of a nerve root in the neck, usually by a disc bulge or bony narrowing. Causes arm pain, and sometimes pins and needles, numbness or weakness along that nerve.

Treat with caution (see below)

Sensitivity89%

Specificity49%

LR+ (positive)1.75

LR− (negative)0.22

Caution: From the original cluster study, Wainner 2003; in the 2026 validation by Grondin a negative moved probability little, LR− 0.74.

These figures have not been confirmed against the full paper (checked against the abstract or a secondary source only).

What the numbers mean

Positive result: barely informative: a positive result changes little.
Negative result: a small shift: a negative result nudges the diagnosis down, but does not exclude it.

Source

Wainner RS, Fritz JM, Irrgang JJ, Boninger ML, Delitto A, Allison S. Reliability and diagnostic accuracy of the clinical examination and patient self-report measures for cervical radiculopathy. Spine. 2003;28(1):52–62. PubMed · single study
Also cited: Grondin F, Cook C, Hall T, Maillard O, Perdrix Y, Freppel S. An independent validation of a clinical prediction rule for the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy with radicular pain. Braz J Phys Ther. 2026;30(3):101581. Journal article (DOI)

Figures as they will appear in Rule It In, Rule It Out (Trokos, forthcoming). If a newer or better study changes them, this page changes with the book. Figures last updated from the book on 2 October 2026.

Get the book for the neck questions that matter: nerve root or referred pain, which myelopathy signs count, and when a neck after trauma needs imaging

This page gives the published figures. Rule It In, Rule It Out adds how to do this test, what counts as positive, how to read the result, and, where studied, whether combining it with other tests helps.

Coming in late 2026 as a PDF and a paperback. Join the list to hear when it's out