Name of test
Forearm pronation
What it tests
Passive motion assesses the radiocapitellar joint of the elbow. If passive motion is normal, then active motion assesses the function of the pronator teres and pronator quadratus
How to do it
"Shake hands" with the subject. Passively move the subject’s forearm from full supination to full pronation. Repeat against resistance
The normal response
Painless and full motion
What it means if not normal
Weakness may reflect a median nerve or C6 lesion. The pronator teres, the muscle powering this motion, is rarely torn. In fact, in one study, forearm pronation weakness was more frequent motor finding in C6 radiculopathies than wrist extension, the "classic" finding.
Comments
Although side-to-side testing is a useful approach, recall that supination strength is usually noticeably greater than pronation strength (to say nothing of the fact that the dominant arm is also stronger)
Citations
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