Speed's Test | Biceps Pathology

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The SPEEDS test has a low clinical value for including or excluding SLAP lesions or other biceps pathologies.

The literature describes two different performances of the SPEEDS test.

For the first version, ask a patient to extend their elbow and fully supinate their forearm. Then, the patient flexes their shoulder from 0 to 60 degrees while the examiner provides resistance.

In the second version, which is the version commonly used nowadays, the patient is asked to extend their elbow, fully supinate their forearm again, and bring the shoulder into 90 degrees of flexion. In this position, the patient is asked to resist downward pressure.

When a patient’s arm is placed in the examining position for the SPEEDS test and downward pressure is applied, the biceps tendon acts like a suspensor cable from its insertion on the superior labrum to the arm. Increased tension in this cable, and the presence of inflammation, is thought to result in pain in the shoulder.


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