Elbow
Moving valgus stress test
- What you examine
- Chronic overload of the ulnar collateral ligament in throwing athletes.
- Procedure
- Bring the shoulder into 90 degrees of abduction and maximal external rotation. Maintain constant valgus on the elbow and move it quickly from full flexion to full extension.
- Positive when
- Recognisable medial pain, strongest between about 120 and 70 degrees of flexion, the so-called throwing painful arc.
- What the test is worth
- Sensitivity around 1.00 and specificity around 0.75 in the original series of throwers; considerably more sensitive than the static valgus test.
- Caution
- The pain must sit in the same arc as during throwing. Pain throughout the range points to another source.
- Joint
- Elbow joint
- Body region
- Elbow