Which test is classically diagnostic for cervical radiculopathy?

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Nerve root compression in the cervical spine commonly presents as radiating arm pain that follows a dermatomal pattern. Spurling's maneuver tests exactly this by loading the nerve roots through axial compression while the neck is positioned to narrow the neural foramina. The patient sits with the neck extended and modestly rotated/side-bent toward the side of symptoms, then the examiner applies downward pressure on the head to squeeze the nerve roots. If this reproduces sharp, radicular pain in the arm, it strongly supports cervical radiculopathy from foraminal compression.

Other tests on the list target different structures: some assess facet joint or soft-tissue pain, some check upper cervical stability, and one is used for knee ligament/meniscal injury. Those are not diagnostic for radiculopathy, so the maneuver that reproduces nerve-root–specific symptoms is the classic diagnostic test.