In the shoulder abduction test, lifting the arm above the head relieves symptoms. This relief suggests which condition?

• A. C5 radiculopathy
• B. C6 radiculopathy
• C. C7 radiculopathy
• D. Brachial plexus neuritis

Answer: (A)

This is the Bakody sign: relief of radicular shoulder pain when the arm is placed overhead. Lifting the arm to the head reduces tension and loading on the cervical nerve roots, especially the upper ones, by changing the neck–shoulder geometry and decreasing foraminal compression. When the C5 root is irritated, this unloading often eases the radiating pain, making it a clue toward cervical radiculopathy at C5. If the problem were due to C6 or C7 radiculopathy, the pain pattern and response to this maneuver would align with those roots instead. Brachial plexus neuritis, being a peripheral nerve process, typically doesn’t produce consistent relief with this positional unloading.