if you have pain in your shoulder or you can't lift your arm very well you might have a rotator cuff tear today i'm going to share five easy physical therapy tests you can perform to identify whether or not your rotator cuff is compromised or torn let's get started hey welcome to the channel i'm tim fraticelli i'm a physical therapist with pt progress and on this channel we love talking about all things physical therapy to help you make progress towards your goals and your goal is to figure out whether or not you have a rotator cuff tear this video is for you we'll talk more about rotator cuff tears in general in this video up here and be sure to stick around at the end because the next video that plays will go over the top exercises you can do for non-surgical rotator cuff rehab but today we'll just review the five tests you need to know for identifying a potential compromise or torn muscle of the rotator cuff okay the first test that i like to perform in the clinic is called the empty can test this test targets one of the rotator cuff muscles that most commonly tears at the tendon and that's called the supraspinatus muscle to perform the empty can test simply extend your arm fully and raise it to 90 degrees and hold your arms slightly out from the body now turn your hand downward like you're emptying a can or glass next apply pressure to your arm and resist the motion of course you could have someone else do this for you or you can use your opposite arm to test this for yourself if you experience pain or weakness on one side compared to the other side your supraspinatus tendon may be compromised or torn and that's how you perform the empty can test the next test is called the drop arm test when you have a rotator cuff tear can be really hard to control your arm as it lowers especially if one of the four stabilizers of the rotator cuff are compromised so to perform the drop arm test simply raise your arm overhead using your other arm to assist to achieve as much motion as possible now lower your arm to the side without any assistance or control of the opposite hand if you can't control the motion of your arm or if it drops suddenly it's likely that you have a rotator cuff that's compromised from a severe strain or a possible tear at the supraspinatus tendon the third test to check for a rotator cuff tear is called the lag sign start by bending your elbow to 90 degrees and with your opposite arm position the other arm away from your body slightly and into external rotation kind of like you're about to throw a baseball now release your other hand from that arm and try to maintain that position if your arm drops or lags you have a positive sign and your supraspinatus or your infraspinatus possibly even the teres minor tendon may be compromised or torn with a positive lag sign the fourth test to check for a rotator cuff tear is called the infraspinatus test the infraspinatus muscle is one of three external rotators of the shoulder allowing the arm to move into external rotation so to isolate this muscle hold your arm at your side and apply a pressure inward with your opposite arm pain or weakness or the inability to hold the position against resistance indicates a positive test and a high likelihood of infraspinatus compromise or tear the fifth test is called the lift off test and is useful for identifying a tear or compromise in the subscapularis tendon the subscapularis muscle moves the shoulder into internal rotation so to perform the test position your arm behind your back and now lift your arm off of your back if this produces a pain or you're just not able to lift or perform the movement at all because of pain or weakness it's a positive test and it could indicate a subscapularis compromise or tear so for a quick review we have the empty can test the drop arm test the lag sign the infraspinatus test and the lift off test if you want to learn more about rotator cuff tears watch the video up here and if you're interested in learning 10 exercises you can do for the rotator cuff i'll guide you through those exercises in the video that'll play next hey thanks for watching be sure to subscribe to the channel if you found this video to be helpful and as always keep making progress towards your goals and i know you'll be successful i'll see you in the next video