Simple Shoulder Test (SST)
Simple Shoulder Test (Lippitt, Harryman and Matsen 1993): twelve yes-or-no questions about what a shoulder can do.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Shoulder is comfortable with the arm at rest
- Yes
- Shoulder allows sleeping comfortably
- Yes
- Can reach the small of the back to tuck in a
- Yes
- Can place the hand behind the head with the
- Yes
- Can place a coin on a shelf at shoulder leve
- Yes
- Can lift one pound to shoulder level without
- Yes
- Can wash the back of the opposite shoulder
- Yes
- Shoulder allows working full-time at the reg
- Yes
Result: Simple Shoulder Test 8 of 12 (66.7%) - higher is better; 12 is a shoulder that does everything asked of it.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Direction
- Higher is better. 12 is a shoulder that does everything asked of it; 0 is one that does none of it.
- No weights
- There are no subscales and no weighting - comfort at rest counts the same as carrying twenty pounds. That evenness is the design.
- Scope
- What the patient reports they can do. Not an examination, a diagnosis, or a decision about surgery; most useful over time.
What you enter
- Shoulder is comfortable with the arm at rest...
- Shoulder allows sleeping comfortably
- Can reach the small of the back to tuck in a...
- Can place the hand behind the head with the ...
- Can place a coin on a shelf at shoulder leve...
- Can lift one pound to shoulder level without...
- Can lift eight pounds to shoulder level with...
- Can carry twenty pounds at the side
The other 4 fields
- Could toss a ball underhand twenty yards
- Could toss a ball overhand twenty yards
- Can wash the back of the opposite shoulder
- Shoulder allows working full-time at the reg...
How this is calculated
- Scoring
- Twelve yes-or-no questions. Each yes scores 1 and each no 0, giving 0 to 12. The percentage is the total divided by 12.
Lippitt SB, Harryman DT, Matsen FA. A practical tool for evaluating function: the Simple Shoulder Test. In: Matsen FA, Fu FH, Hawkins RJ, eds. The Shoulder: A Balance of Mobility and Stability. Rosemont, IL: AAOS; 1993:501-518. Search PubMed for this source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.