TEST POSITIONING
The client sits or stands with the involved limb relaxed at their side, facing the therapist.
ACTION
The therapist applies pressure to the client's distal clavicle in an inferior direction.
POSITIVE FINDING
The therapist is able to use inferior pressure to depress the clavicle into its normal resting position and subsequently watch the clavicle elevate again once the pressure is removed.
This finding is indicative of the instability of the acromioclavicular joint on the
involved side.
CONSIDERATIONS & COMMENTS
The therapist should always use a bilateral comparison when assessing the range of elevation and depression of the involved clavicle.
Significant clavicular elevation may also indicate coracoclavicular joint involvement.