Yergasons Test

Jo Gibson

Yergason's was designed to assess for pathology in the long head of biceps tendon in its sheath.

Test

The patient's elbow is flexed and their forearm pronated. The examiner holds their arm at the wrist. Patient actively supinates against resistance.

Positive

Pain located to bicipital groove area suggests pathology in the long head of biceps in its sheath.

Research

Holtby and Razmjou performed a prospective blinded study of 152 consecutive patients with a wide spectrum of shoulder problems. The validity of the Yergason's and Speed's tests was evaluated against fmdings at surgery. Surgical fmdings included bicipital tendonitis, 10 biceps partial tears and 2 complete ruptures. 15 patients

 

Sensitivity Specificity PPV NPV
Yergason's 43% 79% 60% 65%
Speed's 32% 75% 50% 58%

 

The authors concluded that clinicians should understand that clinical examination tests do not perform consistently and have variable predictive values in different patient populations and settings.