The Shoulder

Preliminary examination

Active elevation of both arms is positive

Active Elevation of the arm is part of the basic functional examination.
If this is the only test that appears to be positive during the preliminary examination, it is obvious that the basic examination of the shoulder can be continued without further ado.

Sometimes however, apart from the slight limitation of the active elevation, the basic examination reveals no further positive findings:

the passive movements of the shoulder are full and painless
the resisted movements are strong and painless.
Furthermore, the active movements of the shoulder girdle show no abnormalities

In this case a neurological lesion of the shoulder girdle should be kept in mind.

Lesion of the Accessory nerve
Lesion of the Long Thoracic nerve