The Shoulder

3. The patient executes the resisted movements inaccurately

If two or more resisted movements prove painful, the following procedure should be followed.

Perform the resisted movements several times and compare with the contralateral side . Make sure that the tests are executed as technically perfect as possible.
Make sure the patient understood your question: "which movement represents 'the' pain the most"?
A sheet of paper should be actively hold between the elbow and the chest during the performance of the resisted rotations. This will prevent the patient of actively abduct the elbow when pushing the arm in lateral rotation.
Repeat the resisted movements in supine position. This relaxes all the shoulder structures not intended to be tested.
Repeat the resisted abduction under axial traction. The traction neutralises the upwards movement of the humerus, which is induced by the action of the deltoid muscle. This upwards movement may painfully squeeze inflamed structures between humerus and acromial roof.