Examination of a 60-Year-Old Woman with Shoulder Pain course for GPs

This session uses a video clip to demonstrate how to perform a focused, problem-based physical examination on a patient presenting with shoulder pain in primary care.

This session was reviewed by Khyati Bakhai and last updated in September 2018.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Decide on an appropriate physical examination of a patient presenting with shoulder pain
• Perform a problem-based targeted examination to help make a diagnosis and exclude serious pathology
• Explain to the patient the reasons for your examination and obtain informed consent
• Conduct an examination of the shoulder in a patient-centred way and explain the process and your findings
• Be able to relate findings to the patient to explain the possible cause of the pain

It is the third most common cause of musculo-skeletal consultation in primary care and approximately 1% of adults consult a general practitioner (GP) with new shoulder disorders. GPs need to be able to choose an appropriate problem-based examination to be able to make a diagnosis and exclude serious pathology.