Clinical tests for supraspinatus tear, compared

A tear in the supraspinatus, the rotator cuff tendon across the top of the shoulder that helps lift the arm out to the side. Tears can be partial or full-thickness.

The 3 tests in the library for supraspinatus tear, side by side, each with the published accuracy figures that exist for it. Click a test for what each result means, any caution, and the source.

Test	Sensitivity	Specificity	LR+	LR−	Verdict
Drop arm test	24%	96%	6.45	0.79	Best used to rule in
Empty can / Jobe's test	88%	62%	2.3	0.19	Best used to rule out
Full can test	70%	81%	3.7	0.37	A weak test on its own

Reading the table

A high LR+ makes a positive result useful for ruling the condition in; a low LR− makes a negative result useful for ruling it out. A test can be good in one direction and weak in the other, and the figures come from different studies and patient groups, so compare them with care.

For a suspected full-thickness tear, the book starts with Park's cluster (painful arc, drop arm, weak external rotation): no single test rules out a full-thickness tear.

Tests for the same problem are rarely independent, so a second positive adds much less than its own figure suggests. Do not multiply their figures together. Where a combination has been tested as a cluster or a decision rule, Rule It In, Rule It Out gives that published result.

To turn a figure into a probability for your patient, use the probability calculator.

Get the book for the shoulder questions that matter: neck or shoulder, a painful cuff or a torn one, and an unstable joint or the labrum

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

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

One study, one test, once a month

Rule It In is a free evidence letter for musculoskeletal clinicians: one recent study explained, one examination test with its real numbers. From Trokos, publisher of Rule It In, Rule It Out.

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