Shoulder & upper arm: examination tests with their numbers
17 tests from the book, each with the published accuracy figures that exist for it, and what a positive and a negative result mean.
- Apprehension testLR+ 20.2 · LR− 0.29 · Best used to rule in
- Belly-press testLR+ 2.2 · LR− 0.83 · A weak test on its own
- Crank testLR+ 1.64 · LR− 0.75 · A weak test on its own
- Cross-body adduction (scarf) testLR+ 3.7 · LR− 0.29 · A weak test on its own
- Drop arm testLR+ 6.45 · LR− 0.79 · Best used to rule in
- Empty can / Jobe's testLR+ 2.3 · LR− 0.19 · Best used to rule out
- External rotation lag signLR+ 6.06 · LR− 0.92 · Best used to rule in
- Full can testLR+ 3.7 · LR− 0.37 · A weak test on its own
- Hawkins–Kennedy signLR+ 1.64 · LR− 0.53 · A weak test on its own
- Hornblower's signLR+ 4.81 · LR− 0.86 · A weak test on its own
- Lift-off testLR+ 5.5 · LR− 0.71 · Best used to rule in
- Neer's signLR+ 1.54 · LR− 0.47 · A weak test on its own
- O'Brien's / active compression testLR+ 1.3 · LR− 0.7 · A weak test on its own
- Relocation testLR+ 10.4 · LR− 0.21 · Best used to rule in
- Speed's testLR+ 1.67 · LR− 0.91 · A weak test on its own
- Spurling's testLR+ 3.28 · LR− 0.51 · A weak test on its own
- Surprise / anterior release testLR+ 58.6 · LR− 0.37 · Best used to rule in
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
These pages give the published figures. Rule It In, Rule It Out adds, for every test with published figures in the chapter ‘The shoulder’: how to do it, 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.