Supraspinatus “Can” Tests

Authors

Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Caution

Poor Tissue Isolation (Specificity)

In empty can for “ supra” 9 shoulder mm active^{salamhItTimePut2020?}
During full can test 8 other mm were active^{salamhItTimePut2020?}

Pain is unreliable

Hyperalgesia: Areas with increased inflammatory markers can cause unrelated areas to be sensitive to certain positions. For example the subacromial bursa has high concentrations of substance P and pro-inflammatory cytokines and is often aggravated by the Empty can test^{salamhItTimePut2020?}.
Allodynia: Pain is not directly related to tissue damage^{salamhItTimePut2020?}.

Empty Can

AKA

Jobe Test
Empty Can Test

Purpose

Designed to evaluate for both SIS and supraspinatus pathology.

Technique

To perform this test, the clinician abducts the patient’s arm to 90 degrees in the scapular plane (30 degrees from the coronal plane) and internally rotates the wrist so that the thumb is facing the ground with the elbow extended. The clinician then applies a gentle downward force to the patient’s distal forearm, and if pain is reproduced, the test is considered positive.

Validity

Michener et al.,122 in a prospective study comparing the diagnostic reliability and accuracy of five examination tests for SIS, demonstrated a sensitivity of 50% and specificity of 87% for the Jobe test¹.

Full Can

Dutton M. Dutton’s Orthopaedic Examination, Evaluation, and Intervention. 5th ed. McGraw Hill Education; 2020.

Citation

For attribution, please cite this work as:

Yomogida N, Kerstein C. Supraspinatus “Can” Tests. https://yomokerst.com/The Archive/Examination/Tests and Measures/Upper Extremity Tests/Shoulder Tests/supraspinatus_can_tests.html