Drop Arm Test (Codman’s)

Authors

Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

“Drop-arm (Codman’s) Test. The clinician passively raises the patient’s arm to 90 degrees of abduction. The patient is asked to lower their arm with their palm down (Fig. 16-68). If at any point in the descent, the patient’s arm drops, it is indicative of an RC injury (Table 16-27). The drop arm test has been reported to be 35% sensitive and 88% specific for full-thickness tears and 14.3% sensitive and 78% specific for partial-thickness tears.126”¹

References

1.

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