Purpose of Apprehension test (anterior glenohumeral instability): To test if there is an anterior instability of the glenohumeral joint (1).

Patient position: Supine lying.

Examiner position: Stand facing the patient’s affected side.

Procedure: Grasp the elbow and wrist of the patient’s affected arm using your left and right hands respectively. Gently flex the patient’s affected side elbow joint to 90 degrees and abduct the shoulder joint to 90 degrees, maintaining the humerus in neutral rotation. Gently perform lateral rotation of the patient’s affected shoulder joint until the end of the range.

Outcome: This test(Apprehension test) is positive if the patient feels apprehensive of having a subluxation or dislocation during the movement. The patient may report having pain during this manoeuvre and some authors describe it as indicative of a more subtle anterior instability (1,2).

Reference:

1. Lo IK, Nonweiler B, Woolfrey M, Litchfield R, Kirkley A. An evaluation of the apprehension, relocation, and surprise tests for anterior shoulder instability. The American journal of sports medicine. 2004;32(2):301-7.
2. Kvitne R, Jobe F, Jobe C. Shoulder instability in the overhand or throwing athlete. Clinics in sports medicine. 1995;14(4):917-35.