Yergason's Test: How to Assess the Long Head of the Biceps and Shoulder TFCC

When a client points right to the front of the shoulder, near the biceps area, and reports pain during elbow flexion or resisted supination, Yergason's test is one worth having handy. It assesses an area often overlooked in general shoulder assessments: the bicipital groove.

What Does This Test Measure?

Yergason's test aims to reproduce pain in the long head of the biceps brachii tendon, specifically as it passes through the bicipital groove (the channel between the greater and lesser tubercles of the humerus). It can also point toward instability of that tendon within the groove.

Equipment Needed

• None

How to Perform the Test

1. The subject sits or stands, with the elbow flexed to 90° and tucked against the body
2. The forearm is in pronation (palm facing down)
3. Hold the subject's wrist with one hand, providing resistance
4. Ask the subject to simultaneously supinate the forearm and externally rotate the shoulder against your resistance, as if forcefully "turning the palm upward"
5. Watch for pain localized in the bicipital groove (front of the shoulder)

Common Mistakes

• Not keeping the elbow fixed against the body, allowing the shoulder to compensate with other movements
• Confusing diffuse shoulder pain with the specific localized pain of the bicipital groove
• Not comparing with the opposite side when pain is unilateral

How to Interpret the Results

Result	Interpretation
No pain in the bicipital groove	Negative
Localized pain in the bicipital groove during resistance	Positive — suggests tendinopathy of the long head of the biceps or irritation of the transverse humeral ligament (which stabilizes the tendon in the groove)

Yergason's test has reasonable specificity for biceps pathology, but its sensitivity is limited, so a negative result does not fully rule out biceps tendon involvement.

As always, it's a screening test: it points in a direction, but confirmation requires imaging if there's significant clinical suspicion.

Related Tests

To refine the assessment of the front of the shoulder, combine Yergason's test with:

• Speed's test — another test specific to the long head of the biceps, with a different mechanism
• O'Brien's test — if you also suspect labral involvement (SLAP), since the long head of the biceps inserts on the superior labrum

Why It's Worth Recording

Anterior shoulder pain related to the biceps often shows up in people who train a lot of bench press, dips, or elbow flexion exercises with heavy loads. Catching it early allows you to adjust programming (volume, angles, tempo) before it becomes chronic. In Movalytics you can log the Yergason's test result alongside the rest of the shoulder assessment, keeping all the clinical context in one place for future comparisons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Yergason's test and Speed's test assess the same thing? Both assess the long head of the biceps, but with different mechanisms (resistance to supination plus external rotation in Yergason's, vs. resistance to shoulder flexion with the elbow extended in Speed's). Using them together increases the reliability of the suspicion. Does a positive Yergason's test always indicate biceps tendinopathy? It's the most likely explanation, but it can also reflect irritation of the transverse humeral ligament or, less commonly, associated labral pathology. Can it be positive due to issues that aren't from the shoulder, like the elbow? The test focuses on the shoulder, but if the client has active epicondylalgia or other elbow pathology, there could be some interference in interpreting referred pain. That's why it's always important to contextualize with the rest of the assessment.