by AceMedEd

Teach card · keep it in your scrub pocket

The painful shoulder

Ask in clinic

  1. Before you examine: "Ask the patient to point with one finger. Lateral arm, top of the shoulder or the front: what does each point you toward?"
  2. After the empty can test: "Was that weakness or pain? Which one makes you worry about a tear, and which two tests check the rest of the cuff?"
  3. On the X-ray, with stiff motion: "Passive external rotation is half the other side. What does a normal film make likely, and what would a narrowed joint mean instead?"

Point at: the AC joint, the bicipital groove and the anterolateral corner of the acromion on the patient, while they name what lies under each.

End of day: "Examine my shoulder in order and tell me what each test looks for." Three minutes, no notes.

Where this kit and your technique differ, yours wins.

Send this to your students

The night before clinic. They learn the anatomy and practice the exam tonight, use it between patients, and get a cold check tomorrow. They won't see these questions.

Open the student page

Reviewed by Mehdi “AC” Talle, D.O., November 2026. Sources: Netter, Gray's Anatomy and Hoppenfeld's surgical exposures. Teaching schematic, not to scale; anatomy and technique vary. Management and indications are left to you on purpose.