{"id":177218,"date":"2026-08-13T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pabau.com\/?p=177218"},"modified":"2026-08-13T13:43:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T13:43:34","slug":"arm-squeeze-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pabau.com\/de\/blog\/arm-squeeze-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Arm squeeze test: How to perform, score and interpret"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The arm squeeze test tells you whether arm pain is coming from the cervical spine or from the shoulder itself.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Use a pincer grip on the middle third of the upper arm, thumb behind over the triceps and fingers in front over the biceps.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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The test is positive when the upper arm score sits at least 3 points above both the AC joint and subacromial scores.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Gumina et al. (2013) reported 96% sensitivity and 91% to 100% specificity, so the test helps rule cervical radiculopathy out and in.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Practice management software like Pabau records each pain score in its own field, so findings stay consistent between appointments.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Your patient rubs the outside of their shoulder and says the ache has been there for six weeks. Nothing in the story points cleanly at one structure. The neck feels stiff, the arm feels heavy, and reaching overhead hurts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That presentation is common, and it is easy to get wrong. Cervical nerve root irritation refers pain straight into the shoulder and arm. Shoulder tests can turn positive even when the neck is the source, which sends treatment down the wrong road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arm squeeze test was built for exactly this decision. You squeeze the upper arm, squeeze two spots on the shoulder, and compare what the patient tells you. It takes under a minute and needs nothing but your hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why neck and shoulder pain look the same in the room<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cervical radiculopathy happens when a nerve root in the neck is compressed or irritated. Disc herniation and foraminal stenosis are the usual causes. The result is pain, paresthesia, or weakness traveling down the arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those symptoms sit on top of the shoulder’s own problem list. Rotator cuff tears, impingement, and acromioclavicular pathology all refer pain to the same patch of skin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoulder provocation tests such as the drop arm test<\/a> can read positive when the neck is the source. Pain and weakness inhibit the movement being tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guessing has a price. Treat the shoulder when the neck is the driver and recovery stalls. You also end up with imaging that answers the wrong question, and sometimes with a shoulder intervention that was never going to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arm squeeze test goes straight at that fork in the road. It will not tell you which nerve root is involved. It tells you which region deserves the next ten minutes of your assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to perform the arm squeeze test in under a minute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Accuracy comes from the comparison, not from the squeeze. You press three sites, collect three pain scores, and read the difference between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you need before you start<\/h3>\n\n\n\n