{"id":8735,"date":"2021-11-19T10:18:42","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T09:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/?post_type=wiki&#038;p=8735"},"modified":"2026-10-29T08:29:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T07:29:21","slug":"painful-arc-sign","status":"publish","type":"wiki","link":"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/painful-arc-sign\/","title":{"rendered":"Painful Arc Sign"},"featured_media":8736,"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-8735","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":8736,"background_image_alt_text":"Painful Arc Sign"},"heading":"Painful Arc Sign | Subacromial Pain Syndrome Assessment","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 videos","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":"<h4>Learn<\/h4>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"<h6>Painful Arc Sign | Subacromial Pain Syndrome Assessment<\/h2>\nThe Painful Arc Test is considered a hallmark sign of patients with subacromial pain syndrome. In fact, a general classification for patients in shoulder pain is to divide them into 1) patients with a painful abduction trajectory, 2) patients with instability and 3) patients with a marked reduction in active and passive range of motion.\nHedgedus et al. (2012) reviewed the literature on which physical examination tests provide clinicians with the most value when examining the shoulder. Their review revealed a sensitivity of 53%and specificity of 76%. It's thus neither very sensitive nor specific in the diagnosis of subacromial pain syndrome, which is why we give it a weak clinical value as a stand-alone test.\n<div class=\"embed-container\">\n\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7-aXHIBRsbU[\/embed]\n\n<\/div>\nTo examine for the painful arc Sign instruct the patient to slowly abduct the arms with the thumbs pointing upwards. The Painful Arc is characterized by a painful trajectory usually between 60\u00b0-120\u00b0 of abduction with less pain at the beginning and end ranges of motion pain. At 170\u00b0-180\u00b0 of abduction is seen in patients with shoulder complaints due to AC joint pathology.\n\nOther common orthopedic tests for subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS) are:\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/neer-test\/\">Neer Test<\/a>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/hawkins-kennedy-test\/\">Hawkins-Kennedy Test<\/a>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/empty-can-test\/\">Empty Can Test<\/a>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/full-can-test\/\">Full Can Test<\/a>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.physiotutors.com\/wiki\/subacromial-pain-syndrome-cluster\/\">Cluster of Michener<\/a>\n\n&nbsp;\n"}},{"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":"<h4>References<\/h4>"},"column_right":{"content_editor":"<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22773322\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hegedus EJ, Goode AP, Cook CE, Michener L, Myer CA, Myer DM, Wright AA. Which physical examination tests provide clinicians with the most value when examining the shoulder? Update of a systematic review with meta-analysis of individual tests. British journal of sports medicine. 2012 Nov 1;46(14):964-78.<\/a>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta-form-v2","content_editor":"<h2>Want to understand <strong>shoulder pain<\/strong> better?<\/h2>\r\n<p>Get Filip Struyf's <strong>free<\/strong> 5-part video series that separates fact from fiction in rotator cuff related shoulder pain.<\/p>","form":"44","image":29338,"image_alt_text":"Free shoulder pain video series"},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta-image-v2","layout":"","background":"transparent","heading":"","content_editor":"<p class=\"subheading\">Like what you\u2019re learning?<\/p>\n<p class=\"heading-two\">Get the full Physiotutors <strong>Assessment Book<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul>\n \t<li>600+ pages on orthopedic assessment<\/li>\n \t<li>Video demonstrations and direct links to the PubMed studies<\/li>\n \t<li>Statistical values for every special test, from the latest research<\/li>\n \t<li>Free lifetime updates<\/li>\n \t<li>Available in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish<\/li>\n<\/ul>","button_type":"internal_link","button_label":"See the Assessment Book","button_style":"button-two","button_internal_link":4646,"button_anchor":"","button_url":"","button_file":null,"side_button":{"side_button_content_editor":""},"bottom_button":{"bottom_button_content_editor":""},"image":22705,"image_alt_text":""}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Painful Arc Sign (Shoulder): How to Test + Accuracy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Video guide to the painful arc sign for subacromial pain. 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