Adson’s Test
- Addresses compromise to brachial plexus through scalene triangles (both ipsilateral and contralateral)
- Patient is seated upright with arms at the side
- The radial pulse is palpated
- Patient inhales deeply and holds the breath for up to 30 seconds while extending and rotating the neck toward the tested side
- Modification: Patient breathes normally while test is performed in 15 degrees of shoulder abduction, same head position
- Positive test: change in radial pulse and/or pain or paresthesia
***There is a large percent of false positives when a change in the radial pulse is considered a positive test. Therefore, clinicians should use the test position for symptom provocation and not as a test for radial pulse change (Plewa et. al. 1998 & Gillard et. al. 2001).