LUDINGTON'S SIGN

​• Test positioning

The client sits or stands while the therapist stands directly behind the client.

The client interlocks their fingers and places them on the superior posterior aspect of their head.

​• Action

The therapist palpates the long head of the biceps tendon bilaterally while the client contracts both the left and right biceps brachii muscles simultaneously.

​• Positive finding

Increased pain is indicative of a biceps brachii long head tendinitis.

Decreased tension of the tendon with palpation may indicate an inability or apprehension of the biceps brachii to contract forcefully.

​• Special considerations & comments

​The client should be sure to stabilize the humeral head during the contraction and allow for the hands to push into the stabilized humeral head.

No tension may be the result of a biceps brachii long head rupture.