The shoulder: Resisted Lateral Rotation

Procedure:

One hand immobilizes the contralateral shoulder.
Elbow bent to 90° and in contact with the trunk.
Shoulder in neutral position (forearm at 12 hours).
The other hand against the outer and distal aspect of the forearm.
Resist the attempt to rotate the forearm laterally.

Remarks:

Adopt a good starting position so the force exerted by the patient can easily be resisted.
Make sure the patient keeps the elbow against the body, so there is no element of abduction during the movement
Also extension of the elbow during lateral rotation should be avoided

- All contractile structures of the rotator cuff have also a
stabilizing function on the scapulohumeral joint.
It may therefore be possible that they are active during other movements than
those exerted by their primary function which, consequently,
may result in a slightly erroneous picture.
(see: help - examination)

- Sometimes the resisted movements indirectly provoke non-contractile (inert) structures.
This is called "transmitted stress"
and may be another source of possible errors during the interpretation.

The Shoulder

10* Resisted Lateral Rotation