During a community survey of rheumatic complaints in a Javanese rural population, fibrous shoulder girdle nodules having a consistent form and position were observed in seven men. This was 2.3% of 303 men with complaints examined from a total population of 2184 men surveyed by house-to-house interviews (response rate 95.2%). Nodules were not seen in any of the 640 women examined with complaints from a total population of 2499, nor were they seen in 130 men and 159 women with complaints from an urban population of 481 men and 590 women over the age of 15 years. It was considered most likely that these shoulder nodules were the result of longstanding repetitive mechanical irritation due to carrying heavy loads by a resilient wooden pole balanced across the shoulder.