Shoulder
Neer impingement test
Neer sign
- What you examine
- Subacromial impingement of the supraspinatus tendon and the bursa.
- Procedure
- Fix the scapula with one hand. With the other, passively bring the straight, pronated arm into maximal forward flexion.
- Positive when
- Pain in the last degrees of elevation, mainly anterolaterally in the shoulder.
- What the test is worth
- High sensitivity (about 0.79) and low specificity (about 0.53): suited to ruling subacromial problems out, not to proving them.
- Caution
- A positive test says nothing about which structure is being pinched. Always combine it with Hawkins-Kennedy and a resisted test.
- Body region
- Shoulder