Simulating the Shoulder Exam

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who examine or treat patients with shoulder pain and suspected rotator cuff pathology.

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in outpatient orthopedic, sports, hospital, and rehabilitation settings. The material is also relevant to athletic trainers and occupational therapists who work with shoulder conditions.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based entirely on a single peer-reviewed basic science article:

Menze J, Rojas JT, Zumstein MA, Ferguson SJ, De Pieri E, Gerber K. Biomechanical evaluation of physical examination tests for rotator cuff tears: a computer simulation study. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 2025;34:1574–1582.

Level of evidence: Basic Science Study; Computer Modeling. Institutional review board approval was not required for this basic science study. The study received funding from Innosuisse — Swiss Innovation Agency, which includes partial funding by Synthes GmbH; several authors report the funding and other relationships in the published disclosures. The study was honored with the European Society of Biomechanics Clinical Biomechanics Award 2022.

All findings, figures, and conclusions presented in this course come from that article. Nothing has been added from other sources.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what a musculoskeletal computer simulation of shoulder examination postures measures and what kind of evidence it produces.
2. Name which of the paired rotator cuff tests the model found biomechanically more sensitive for anterior tears and for teres minor integrity in posterosuperior tears.
3. State the authors' conclusion about the biomechanical sensitivity of the Jobe and Full-can tests, and the main limits the authors placed on their own findings.

1. Start Here: how this course works
2. Podcast: Simulating the Shoulder Exam (about eight minutes)
3. What the Researchers Set Out to Learn About Shoulder Tests
4. Building a Virtual Shoulder: How the Simulation Worked
5. Lift-off, Jobe, Hornblower: What the Model Found
6. What a Computer Model Cannot Tell You
7. Bringing the Findings Into the Clinic
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-test and course evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Based On
2. This course is based entirely on a single peer-reviewed basic science article:
3. Menze J, Rojas JT, Zumstein MA, Ferguson SJ, De Pieri E, Gerber K. Biomechanical evaluation of physical examination tests for rotator cuff tears: a computer simulation study. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 2025;34:1574–1582.
4. Level of evidence: Basic Science Study; Computer Modeling. Institutional review board approval was not required for this basic science study. The study received funding from Innosuisse — Swiss Innovation Agency, which includes partial funding by Synthes GmbH; several authors report the funding and other relationships in the published disclosures. The study was honored with the European Society of Biomechanics Clinical Biomechanics Award 2022.
5. All findings, figures, and conclusions presented in this course come from that article. Nothing has been added from other sources.