Execution
- 1Position the patient standing and stand behind the patient.
- 2Place the fingers of one hand over the clavicle and the heel of that hand over the scapular spine to stabilize the clavicle and hold the scapula retracted.
- 3Use the other hand to compress the scapula against the thoracic wall and maintain a firm scapular base.
- 4A second examiner, or the same examiner when feasible, repeats the patient’s painful elevation, impingement sign, relocation test, or resisted cuff-strength test while the scapula is held retracted.
- 5Compare pain, elevation range, apprehension, and strength with the uncorrected baseline test.
Positive outcome
The SRT is positive when scapular retraction decreases the patient’s familiar pain, improves forward flexion / elevation, improves apparent rotator cuff strength, or improves symptoms during a relocation-type test. The positive finding is symptom or performance change with scapular repositioning, not a structural diagnosis. Magee notes it may be positive in patients with a positive relocation test and in patients with a SICK scapula when repositioning improves forward flexion.
Studies
| Study | Reliability | Sn | Sp | LR+ | LR− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tate et al. (2008) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Fernandez-Matias et al. (2019) | reliability study | NA | NA | NA | NA |
CommentSRT is best viewed as a symptom-modifier and scapular-base test, particularly when rotator cuff strength or painful elevation changes with manual correction. Improvement during SRT supports including scapular stabilizer rehabilitation, but it does not identify the exact tissue source of pain. Reliability and validity evidence is less robust than SDT, and strength change can be subjective unless measured objectively.
Low Clinical Value