Master Shoulder Special Testing: Shoulder Impingement Tests with Picmonic for Physical Therapy

The Hawkins-Kennedy Test is useful for assessing possible impingement of the supraspinatus muscle. The test begins with the patient in a seated position while the clinician places the arm in 90 degrees of shoulder flexion and 90 degrees of elbow flexion, followed by placing the arm into internal rotation. A positive test is indicated by pain with internal rotation, potentially identifying supraspinatus impingement.

The Neer’s Test is useful for the identification of shoulder impingement within the subacromial space of the shoulder joint. During testing, the patient will be in a seated or standing position while the clinician stabilizes the scapula with one hand while passively flexing the arm with maximal internal rotation. A positive test is indicated by pain in this position which identifies potential subacromial impingement syndrome.

The Painful Arc test is another test that is useful in identifying impingement within the shoulder joint. To begin, the patient will be in a seated or standing position - the clinician will ask the patient to abduct the arm in the scapular plane. The patient will tell the clinician if there is pain with this motion as they continue to abduct the arm. A positive test is indicated by a patient experiencing pain between 60 and 120 degrees of abduction which reduces once past 120 degrees of abduction.