?Biceps Tendonitis? ?or Neural?!

?Biceps Tendonitis? ?or Neural?!

Reference:APTEI “Cervical Neural Tissue Pathodynamics” Video/Book Program

Rotator cuff and biceps tendonitis are common diagnoses given to patients with shoulder and upper arm pain. In my experience some of these patients have a primary neural component to their ?tendonitis??originating from the neck!

Here is a simple clinical test to help you differentiate.

CLINICAL TEST

Please stand up and try the following experiment on your self

Step #1: In standing, abduct the right arm with the cervical spine in neutral, the elbow in full extension and the wrist in neutral

* Let?s pretend that arm elevation reproduced your upper arm pain. At this time you are unsure if your symptoms are related to shoulder pathology (e.g. tendonitis) or neural tissue pathodynamics.

Step #2: Bring the arm down and abduct the arm again, but this time with the cervical spine in neutral, the elbow in full extension and the wrist in full flexion

* If you notice a significant increase in arm elevation ROM and/or less symptom reproduction in the upper arm, then the neural tissue is likely sensitized, as wrist flexion should not affect local shoulder pathology.

Step #3: Bring the arm down and abduct the arm again, but this time with the cervical spine in neutral, the elbow in full extension and the wrist in full extension

* If you notice a significant decrease in arm elevation ROM and/or greater symptom reproduction in the upper arm, then the neural tissue is likely sensitized, as wrist extension should not affect local shoulder pathology.

Posted on: December 05, 2002

Categories: Cervical Spine , Shoulder