The patient is placed in a sitting position.
Inferior traction on the arms. There will be a »sulcus« between the acromion and the upper arm. This is common in patients with multidirectional instability and with joint laxity.
The sulcus sign is classified according to the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons criteria:
| 1 | 0-1 cm translation |
| 2 | 1-2 cm translation or translates to glenoid rim |
| 3 | > 2 cm translation or over rim of glenoid |
Henry and coworkers presented an analys of different instability
tests at AAOS 1997. They found that Sulcus sign was the best test to differ patients with
unidirektionell instability and multidirektionell instability. Sulcus sign had a
sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 99%.