The Shoulder

1* Active Elevation

Technique:

The patient is asked to raise both arms as high as possible.
The examiner is behind the patient to judge range and rhythm of the movement.

Normal range: 180°

Scapulohumeral rhythm: After an initial movement in the scapulohumeral joint the scapula starts to rotate synchronously in a ratio of about 2/1: for every 2° of movement in the scapulohumeral joint there exists 1° of scapular rotation.

Remarks:

Active elevation of the arm involves a lot of different structures in both the
shoulder and the shoulder girdle and active elevation can be disturbed
in disorders of both inert and contractile structures.
The outcome of this active test is therefore only significant in relation
to the other (passive and resisted) tests.

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