OBJECTIVETo evaluate the posterior and superior compression test (PSCT) and weight-bearing on elbow test (WBE) on the diagnosis of superior labrum anterior to posterior (SLAP) lesion.

METHODSFrom July 2000 to March 2007, 4 clinical tests including O'Brien test, Crank test, PSCT and WBE were randomly performed on 207 patients (209 shoulders). Among the patients, 125 were males and 82 were females with the mean age of 39 years. All the patients underwent arthroscopic treatment by the same doctor. The arthroscopic diagnosis was considered as the golden standard. For each test, the parameters on clinical epidemiology were calculated, and the differences of detection rate between the physical tests and the arthroscopic examination were compared.

RESULTSThe parameters on clinical epidemiology of O'Brien test, Crank test, PSCT and WBE were comparable. The difference of detection rate between the physical tests and the arthroscopic examination was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The detection rates of PSCT and WEB in the group of injury of posterior and superior labrum were statistically higher than the group of injury of anterior and superior labrum. The detection rate of PSCT in the group of simple SLAP lesion was relatively higher.

CONCLUSIONSCompared with O'Brien test and Crank test, the new PSCT and WBE have not only comparable clinical value in the diagnosis of SLAP lesion, but also the advantage in predicting the location of SLAP lesion. The detection rate of PSCT in the group of simple SLAP lesion is relatively higher, but the mechanism is to be determined.