Shoulder testing and return to sport
Deciding a shoulder is ready by how it feels is how shoulders get re-injured. We measure both sides and compare.
A shoulder that has stopped hurting is not necessarily a shoulder that is ready. Strength returns more slowly than symptoms do, and the gap between the two is where a lot of re-injuries sit, particularly for people going back to overhead sport or contact.
We test rather than estimate. Strength is measured on both sides, at the points in a program where there is a decision to make, so the conversation about going back is held over a number you can see rather than an impression formed in a treatment room.
The tests we use on shoulders
Which of these apply depends on what you are going back to.
External and internal rotation strength
Measured on both sides with a dynamometer or a ForceFrame. The raw figures matter and so does the ratio between them, which is often more informative than either number alone for an overhead athlete.
Comparison against your other side
Your uninjured shoulder is a better reference than a population average, particularly if you throw, swim or lift. We report the difference between sides as a percentage.
Range under load
Range measured passively tells you what the joint allows. What matters for return is what you can control actively, and at the end of range where most shoulders are least strong.
Sport-specific exposure
For contact athletes, graded exposure to force. For overhead athletes, load in the positions the sport actually demands rather than only the ones that are comfortable to test.
What the numbers are and are not
Testing gives you a measurement, not a verdict. A strength figure describes where the shoulder is on that day, against the other side, on that equipment. It is one input into a decision that also involves what the surgeon says, what the sport demands, where you are in a season and how the shoulder has behaved under load in the weeks beforehand.
Why we do not quote a single threshold
You will find percentages published as return-to-sport criteria for various shoulder presentations, and they are worth knowing about. They are also averages drawn from particular groups doing particular sports, and applying one to an individual without that context makes a number look more decisive than it is. We will tell you where you sit and what it means for your situation.
Re-testing
- At the points in the program where there is a genuine decision
- Before any meaningful step up in load or exposure
- Before a return-to-sport conversation, and again if that gets delayed
Questions we get asked
Can I come just for testing?
Does testing hurt?
What equipment do you use?
Will you clear me to play?
Shoulder feels fine, but is it ready?
Book a free 30 minute call. Tell us what you are going back to and we will tell you what testing would be worth doing.
No gap on an accepted claim · You choose your own physio · Five Dock