The Load and Shift Test 🔄 | Shoulder Instability ⚡ To perform the test, have your patient in a sitting position with a straight posture and their arms resting on their thighs. Then, with one hand, try to stabilize the clavicle and the spine of the scapula, and with the other hand, grab the humeral head. During the load portion of this test, you are trying to position the humeral head centrally when you translate it forward. You are testing the posterior capsule when shifting the head backward.

LOAD AND SHIFT TEST TO ASSESS ANTERIOR AND POSTERIOR SHOULDER INSTABILITY The Load and Shift Test can be used to assess anterior as well as posterior shoulder instability. With instability on either side, you will feel increased translation of the humeral head compared to the unaffected side. A translation of up to 25% of the humeral head's diameter is considered normally anteriorly and a translation up to 50% of the diameter is considered normal for the posterior translation. The test is consid