Manual therapy

Manual therapy is well suited as a treatment technique for shoulder impingement syndrome and can be performed by a physiotherapist. In most cases, the joint head of the shoulder is positioned too high and too far forward in the impingement syndrome. When the arm is raised and spread, it strikes below the acromion, thereby pinching the supraspinatus tendon.

In manual therapy, the physiotherapist uses passive joint techniques to bring the joint head back into a better position. These include capsule stretching in the restricted directions of movement, caudal sliding of the joint head and mobilization of the surrounding joints. It is important that the patient learns during the course of treatment to work out the optimal position of the condyle himself. Stretching and self-mobilization exercises at home help to support the success of the therapy. You will find comprehensive information on this in the article Manual Therapy.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy offers a range of options for supportive therapy of shoulder impingement

Test for shoulder impingement syndrome

When diagnosing shoulder impingement syndrome, there are three test variants that can confirm or exclude the presence of the syndrome. These include: Test according to NeerIn this test, the patient stretches the arms straight forward and turns the hand and forearm inwards as far as possible. The doctor will then hold the shoulder joint with one hand and lift the patient’s arm with the other hand.

If there is pain when lifting above 120°, the test result is positive. Jobe testThe Jobe test is used to rule out involvement of the supraspinatus muscle and the supraspinatus tendon. The patient must spread his arms at shoulder level and turn his hands and forearms forward.

The doctor then exerts pressure on the upper arms from above. If pain occurs or the patient cannot stand, the test is positive. Hawkins testThe doctor rotates the shoulder joint inwards for the Hawkins test. If pain occurs, the test is positive.