Specificity and sensitivity of the anterior slide test in throwing athletes with superior glenoid labral tears

Abstract

This study documents the sensitivity and specificity of a clinical test to aid in the diagnosis of superior glenoid labral lesions. The anterior slide test, a method of applying an anteriorly and superiorly directed force to the glenohumeral joint, was performed on several groups of athletes. These included symptomatic athletes with isolated superior labral tears, rotator cuff tears, and instabilities, and asymptomatic athletes with rotational deficits. In addition, non-throwing athletes were tested. The sensitivity of the test was 78.4%, and the specificity was 91.5%. This study shows that the anterior slide test can be used in the clinical examination, in that it has high specificity for superior labral lesions, but not enough sensitivity to be the sole diagnostic criterion for these lesions.