Test library › Shoulder & upper arm
Hawkins–Kennedy sign
For: Subacromial pain
Pain from the structures under the acromion (the bony roof of the shoulder): the rotator cuff tendons and the subacromial bursa. Often called impingement. Typically aches with the arm raised.
A weak test on its ownLikelihood ratios as pooled in the review.
What the numbers mean
- Positive result: barely informative: a positive result changes little.
- Negative result: barely informative: a negative result changes little.
Source
Zhao Q, Palani P, Kassab NS, Terzic M, Olejnik M, Wang S, Tomassini-Lopez Y, Dean C, Shellenberger RA. Evidence-based approach to the shoulder examination for subacromial bursitis and rotator cuff tears: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2024;25:1028. Full text (PubMed Central) · systematic review
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 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 this test, what counts as positive, how to read the result, and, where studied, whether combining it with other tests helps.
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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.