Free Self-Check · Shoulder
Is your shoulder ready to return to sport?
Eight questions, informed by real shoulder return-to-sport research — motion, loading tolerance, strength symmetry, and psychological readiness. Before you start: shoulder return-to-sport science is younger and less standardized than knee or ACL science. No single validated numeric battery exists for the shoulder, and what "ready" looks like genuinely differs by injury type — rotator cuff repair, labral/Bankart repair, and non-surgical overhead-throwing rehab don't follow the same evidence. This is a screening and education tool, not a clearance test.
Takes about 2 minutes. No diagnosis given, and no clearance decision — just an honest read on where to focus next.
The check
Answer honestly — based on how your shoulder actually feels right now.
Your result
You may be progressing well — worth confirming with a PT.
Your answers suggest good pain-free motion, decent loading tolerance, and reasonable confidence. That's a genuinely good sign. But shoulder return-to-sport criteria are less standardized than the knee's — there's no single validated numeric battery to compare yourself against, and "feels ready" still isn't the same as "tested ready." The honest next step is confirming this with hands-on functional testing and a clinical exam, not relying on a self-report alone.
Read more on what that testing actually looks like: Shoulder Return-to-Sport Testing →
Your result
A few areas worth addressing — and worth clarifying by injury type.
Your answers point to a shoulder that's made real progress but still has one or more areas — strength symmetry, loading tolerance, confidence, or fear of reinjury — worth closing before pushing back into full sport demands. Because the evidence genuinely differs between rotator cuff repair, labral/Bankart repair, and non-surgical overhead rehab, a PT can help clarify what actually matters for your specific case, rather than applying one generic standard.
See how a phased approach works: Shoulder Pain Overview →
Your result
Let's start with a proper evaluation.
Your answers suggest either early-stage recovery, or an injury type and stage where the evidence for reliable self-assessment is thinnest — pain with motion, low loading tolerance, low confidence, or meaningful fear of reinjury. That's useful information, not a bad sign. Pushing toward sport demands before these areas are addressed is one of the more common ways shoulders get reinjured, and it's exactly why time-based "you're X months out, you're fine" thinking is unreliable — most published rotator cuff timelines are just that: a calendar, not a functional test. The right next step is a clinical assessment to figure out exactly what your shoulder needs.
What that first assessment looks like: Your First Session →
Since you selected rotator cuff repair: published return-to-play "criteria" for rotator cuff repair are inconsistent — one review found time-from-surgery was the only criterion used in over half of published studies. Months-since-surgery alone is not a reliable readiness signal; function matters more than the calendar.
Since you selected labral/Bankart repair: this is the shoulder population with the most consistent return-to-sport data, and it's also the one population where a validated psychological-readiness scale (SIRSI) exists — it measures confidence, fear, and emotional response, the same constructs Questions 5–7 above are drawing from.
Since you selected non-surgical / overhead-throwing rehab: there is no validated psychological-readiness scale specifically built for this population — SIRSI (referenced in Questions 5–7) was developed and validated for shoulder instability surgery, not general overhead-throwing rehab, so treat those questions as a general gauge rather than a validated score for your specific situation.
This self-check is for general education and screening only. It does not diagnose, and it is not a clearance test — shoulder return-to-sport science is younger than knee/ACL science, no single validated numeric battery exists, and findings genuinely differ by injury type. If anything here feels concerning — instability, catching, significant swelling, or an inability to use the arm — don't wait to be seen.
Where these questions come from — and their limits
Not made up — but genuinely less standardized than our knee check.
Every question above is informed by a real construct used in shoulder return-to-sport research — closed-chain loading tolerance (CKCUEST), strength symmetry, the SIRSI scale's confidence/fear/emotion constructs, and interval throwing progression stages. But we want to be direct about a difference from our knee readiness check: the knee tool is built on well-established, validated numeric thresholds (a 90% limb symmetry index, an ACL-RSI cutoff of 47). Shoulder return-to-sport research has not reached that level of standardization yet. A 2026 systematic review states plainly that no consensus exists on best practices for upper-extremity return-to-sport testing. SIRSI is validated, but only for shoulder instability (labral/Bankart) populations — not for rotator cuff repair or general overhead-throwing rehab. And a large share of published rotator cuff "return-to-play criteria" are really just time elapsed since surgery, not function-based testing.
None of that makes this check useless — it can still tell you honestly whether you're likely tracking well or whether there's real work left. It just means we're being upfront that a self-report here carries more uncertainty than the equivalent knee check does. For the full picture, including where the evidence is strongest and where it's thinnest: Shoulder Return-to-Sport Testing: Rotator Cuff & Labral Repair →
Ready for the real answer
Book a shoulder return-to-sport assessment.
Full testing battery, documented criteria, one session. $750 MXN. Zona Rio, Tijuana.