A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Skin (normal: intact; abrasions/wounds, redness, hematomas (bruises), scars) and mucous membranes.
- Gait (fluid, limping).
- Body or joint posture (upright, bent, gentle posture).
- Muscle atrophies (side comparison!, if necessary circumference measurements).
- Joint (abrasions/wounds, swelling (tumor), redness (rubor), hyperthermia (calor); injury evidence such as hematoma formation, arthritic joint lumpiness, leg axis assessment) [contour of shoulder is deformed].
- Palpation (palpation) of prominent bone points, tendons, ligaments; musculature; joint (joint effusion?); soft tissue swelling; tenderness (localization!) [“empty” glenoid: humeral head is not palpable in the glenoid cavity].
- Assessment of blood flow, motor function, and sensibility:
- Circulation (palpation of pulses).
- Motor function: testing of gross strength in lateral comparison.
- Sensibility (neurological examination): in about 10% of cases, there is damage to the axillary nerve
- Inspection (viewing).
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.