{"id":10630,"date":"2022-05-05T11:12:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T09:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/?post_type=wiki&p=10630"},"modified":"2026-10-15T19:04:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T17:04:39","slug":"ac-joint-line-tenderness","status":"publish","type":"wiki","link":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/ac-joint-line-tenderness\/","title":{"rendered":"AC Joint Line Tenderness"},"featured_media":10631,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"class_list":["post-10630","wiki","type-wiki","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"free_access":"","app_link":"","sections":[{"acf_fc_layout":"page-header-detail-page","background":{"background_image":10631,"background_image_alt_text":"AC Joint Line Tenderness"},"heading":"AC Joint Line Tenderness | Acromioclavicular Joint Pathology","subheading":"Shoulder Assessment","content_editor":"","button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"Check our shop","button_style":"button-five","button_internal_link":4646,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null,"label":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"submenu","links":[{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Learn","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-3","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Free masterclass","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-5","button_url":"","button_file":null},{"button_type":"anchor","button_label":"Assessment E-Book","button_internal_link":null,"button_anchor":"section-number-6","button_url":"","button_file":null}],"dropdown_label":"Go to","button_right":{"button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"Try Premium free","button_style":"button-three","button_internal_link":26802,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":""},"button_description":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content-content","section_options":{"vertical_alignment":"top","column_right_box":false,"column_left_width":"col-12 col-lg-4 offset"},"column_left":{"content_editor":"

Learn<\/h4>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"

AC Joint Line Tenderness | Acromioclavicular Joint Pathology<\/h2>\nPalpation of the acromioclavicular (AC) joint for tenderness is a common orthopedic test to assess for AC joint pathology or sensitivity.\n\nAccording to Walten et al. (2004), the Joint Line Tenderness assessment has a sensitivity of 96% and a low specificity of 10%, which you would think translates into a promising tool to exclude AC joint pathology in case of a negative test due to its high sensitivity.\n\nBut this is an excellent example where the Spin and Snout rule goes terribly wrong. The sensitivity and specificity combined result in a negative likelihood ratio of 0.4 which is far from great to really exclude a condition.\n
\n\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U31quA3ZsjY[\/embed]\n\n<\/div>\nTo conduct the tests the patient is in a sitting position with the arm resting alongside the body. Stand on the symptomatic side and palpate the joint line between the acromion and the clavicle to find it. Locate the broad bony acromion and then palpate along its rim anterio-medially until you reach the clavicle.\n\nThe test is considered positive if the pain is felt in the region of the AC joint\n\nOther common orthopedic tests to assess for AC Joint Pathology are:\n