Common Low Back injuries Flashcards
Cause of muscle strain
Acute injury or cumulative stress
Symptoms of muslce strain
Diffuse, achy pain. Stiff and tight muscles, especially with certain movements. Rest relieves the pain
Signs of muscle strain
Restricted ROM and point tenderness. Passive movements are not usually painful until at full stretch.
Causes of ligament sprain
Acute injury or cumulative stress
Symptoms of ligament sprain
Localized pain which is sharp in certain movements.
Signs of ligament sprain
Active and passive movements are painful, but resisted in not.
Grade I sprain
Stretching or mild tear of the ligaments. Includes little or no joint instability.
Grade II sprain
Incomplete tear with some looseness in the joint.
Grade III sprain
Completely torn or ruptured ligament. Can be mistaken for a broken bone because the joint is unusable.
Causes of facet joint dysfunction
Poor posture, muscle imbalance or hypertonicity which leads to fatigue, subluxation, fixation or an entrapped meniscoid.
Symptoms of facet joint dysfunction
May be painless, but may also radiate to the groin, gluteals and thighs.
Signs of facet dysfunction
Decreased extension, side bending and rotation. Potentially palpable in the form of displaced bony anaotomy.
Cause of Si joint dysfunction
Trauma or repetitive twisting.
Risk factors for SI joint dysfunction
Leg length discrepancy, muscle imbalance sustained muscle tightness.
Signs of Si joint dysfunction
Pelvis misalignment, subluxation, innominate rotation, flares, sacral dysfunction and positive Patrick’s test.
Causes of piriformis syndrome
Hypertonic piriformis, often due to excessive sitting, SI dysfunction or pelvic obliquety.
SI joint dysfunction symptoms
Pain in the gluteals, groin and posterior thigh. Can also radiate below the knee.
Signs of piriformis syndrome
Decreased coxal ROM. Increased pain during medial rotation.
Symptoms of piriformis syndrome
Pain when climbing inclines or when seated. Pain in the midline of the buttock which radiates to the posterior thighs.
Cause of coccydemia
Fall on the gluteals, childbirth or articular soft tissue changes.
Symptoms of coccydemia
Coccyx pain when seated.
Signs of coccydemia
Indication of pain, thickening of the coccygeal ligament.
Causes of arthritis
Previous injury, sustained muscle tension, poor posture, muscular imbalances, obesity.
Symptoms of arthritis
Dull, aching pain which is worse in the morning.
Signs of arthritis
Chronic loss of lumbar extension and damage to the facets.
Results of pelvis-crossed syndrome
Anterior rotation of the pelvis and hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine along with minimal hip flexion.
Pelvis-Crossed syndrome
An imbalance between shortened and tight hip flexors and lumbar erector spinae and weakened gluteals and abdominals.
Muscles which are tight in pelvis-crossed syndrome
Piriformis, hamstrings, erector spinae, quadratus lumborum, rectus femoris, TFL and iliopsoas.
Muscles which are weak in pelvis-crossed syndrome
All 3 glutes, rectus abdominis, vastus medialis and lateralis.
Torticollis
Scoliosis of the cervical spine.
Cause of non-structural scoliosis
Postural problems, muscle imbalances, nerve root irritation, inflammation, contracture or compensation for leg length discrepencies.
Signs and symptoms of non-structural scoliosis
Back pain, decreased flexibility. Side bending remains symmetrical and the curve disappears during forward flexion.
Structural scoliosis causes
Bony deformity which may be congenital or acquired from excessive muscle weakness (quadriplagia)
Signs and symptoms of structural scoliosis
Decreased flexibility, a curve that remains even during forward flexion.
Schennermann’s disease
A type of structural kyphosis with anterior wedging of vertebrae. Affects up to 10% of adolescents and is typically found in the T10-L2 region.
Cause of Schennermann’s disease
An abnormality in the growth rate during growth spurts.
Signs and symptoms of Schennermann’s disease
Presents at age 10-15. Kyphosis, back pain, loss of flexion, muscle spasms and cramps.
Treatment for Schennermann’s disease
Back brace, physiotherapy, surgery.
Spondylosis
Degenerative disease of unknown etiology which affects the intervertebral joints. Results in bone spurs and ankylosis of adjacent vertebrae.
Ankylosis
Stiffening and dcreased mobility of a joint that has been obliterated by fibrous tissue.
Spondylolisthesis
A forward displacement of one vertebrae over another.
Spondylolysis
A defect in the arch of the vertebrae.
Retrolisthesis
Backward displacement of one vertebrae over another.
Lumbarizations
S1 is mobile and resembles a lumbar vertebrae.
Sacralization
L5 is attached to the sacrum
Butterfly vertebrae
Vertebral anomaly that results from the failure of fusion between the lateral halves of the vertebral body. Causes by persistent notochordal tissue between the halves.
Congenital hip dysplasia signs and symptoms
Legs turn outward or appear to have different lengths, limited ROM, folds on legs are buttocks which are asymetrical.
Pubic symphysis disruption
Rare condition in which the pubic symphysis separates completely during childbirth. Causes severe pain and requires surgery.
Sacral dysplasia or caudal regression syndrome
Disorder that impairs the development of the lower half of the body.
