Simple Shoulder Test (SST)

Clinical intent

The shoulder is essential for many activities of daily living. The ability of the shoulder to carry out these functions characterizes perhaps the most important aspect of its health. Conversely, the severity of shoulder conditions may be documented in terms of the compromise of these functions.

Because of the critical importance of systematic documentation of shoulder function, the the Simple Shoulder Test (SST) was developed: a series of 12 "yes" or "no" questions the patient answers about the function of the involved shoulder. The answers to these questions provides a standardized way of recording the function of a shoulder before and after treatment. Our practice is to obtain the Simple Shoulder Test on all patients presenting to the University of Washington Shoulder and Elbow Service so we will have a benchmark for comparison of their subsequent course[1].

The Simple Shoulder Test is standardized, simple, short, practical and free to all who would like to use it. Here is an Adobe Acrobat version of the Simple Shoulder Test.

Calculation

Each question that is answered "Yes" counts for 1 point. The total amount of points is divided by 12 and multiplied by 100 to get a score from 0-100.

Clinical interpretation

The higher the score, the less functional constraints the affected shoulder causes.

References

[1] https://orthop.washington.edu/patient-care/articles/shoulder/simple-shoulder-test.html