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Clinical test — professional use

Drop arm test

Screen for a large rotator cuff tear.

🔬 Beyond Rehab Science
AMBER — get assessed before starting rehab
Performed and interpreted by a trained clinician. Shown here so you can understand what an assessment involves—not for self-diagnosis.
PurposeScreen for a large rotator cuff tear.
Structures assessed
SupraspinatusRotator cuff
Procedure
  1. The examiner raises the patient's arm to about 90°–120° of abduction.
  2. The patient slowly lowers the arm to the side.
Positive resultThe arm drops suddenly or cannot be lowered smoothly.
Negative resultSmooth, controlled lowering.
InterpretationSuggests a large, often full-thickness tear.
Limitations
  • Low sensitivity for smaller tears
  • No single test is definitive.
Diagnostic accuracySensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios will be shown once verified against the cited review(s). Values are never estimated.
Used for
Rotator cuff injury (tear / tendinopathy)
Research
  1. [External] Hegedus EJ, Goode AP, Cook CE, et al. Which physical examination tests provide clinicians with the most value when examining the shoulder? Update of a systematic review with meta-analysis of individual tests. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2012. find original ↗