Execution
- 1Position the patient standing or sitting.
- 2Ask the patient to place the hand of the tested side on the opposite shoulder.
- 3Stabilize the shoulder girdle as needed to avoid trunk substitution.
- 4Elevate the patient’s elbow.
- 5Record whether the manoeuvre reproduces the patient’s familiar subacromial / anterior shoulder pain.
Positive outcome
Pain during elbow elevation with the hand on the opposite shoulder is positive. Magee describes Yocum’s test as a modification of Hawkins-Kennedy and record pain as the positive finding.
Studies
| Study | Reliability | Sn | Sp | LR+ | LR− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leroux et al. (1995) | NA | 65-78 | 73 | 2.41 | 0.48 |
| Silva et al. (2008) | NA | 79-80 | 36-40 | 1.25-1.32 | 0.53-0.56 |
CommentYocum is easy to add after Hawkins-Kennedy because it provokes a similar impingement mechanism in a functional cross-body position. The evidence base is thinner and specificity is inconsistent, so it should not be weighted as strongly as painful arc or the Park cluster. A positive result is best interpreted as symptom reproduction, not proof of a single compressed structure.
Moderate Clinical Value