Exam 2 Flashcards
What key findings are red flags for a cervical myelopathy?
sensory disturbance of the hands
muscle wasting of intrinsic hand muscles
unsteady gait
hoffmans reflex
hyperreflexia
bowel and bladder disturbance
multisegmented weakness
What key findings are red flags for a neoplastic condition?
> 50 years old
previous history of cancer
unexplained weight loss
night pain
no relief with rest
what key findings are red flags for an upper cervical ligamentous instability?
occipital headache and numbness
Severlly limited neck AROM
cervical myelopathy red flags
what key findings are red flags for a vertebral artery insufficiency?
drop attacks
dizziness
dysphasia
dysarthria
diplopia
Positive cranial nerve signs
What key findings are red flags for an inflammatory/systemic disease?
Temp >100*F
BP> 160/95
Pulse>100
RR> 25
Fatigue
What key findings are red flags for a fracture?
Age> 65
Trauma
prolonged use of corticosteroids
Severly limited neck ROM
Positive neurologic signs
Case study: Patient presents with worsening neck pain, patchy neurologic findings, signs of infection (fever), and bladder symptoms issues breathing. Potential diagnosis?
Cervical abscess at or around C3-C5 causing compression of spinal cord.
Note: breathing issues (phrenic nerve compression). Infection/ fever (potential abscess)
What are the 5 classifications described in the childs paper?
Mobility, centralization, Condition, pain control, headache reduction
What are the potential examination findings common in mobility group?
recent onset of symptoms
No radicular symptoms
restricted rotation ROM
discrepancy in side bending ROM
You are doing evaluating a patient and they do not show positive signs for the compression or distraction tests. what classification group do they fit in?
Mobility
What are the potential examination findings common in the centralization group?
radicular symptoms
signs of nerve root compression
Diagnosis of “cervical radiculopathy”
Within the evaluation you ask the patient to perform repeated movements for 3 sets of 10. At the end of the 3 sets the patient’s radicular symptoms localize to the neck region. What classification group do they most likely fit in?
Centralization group
What are the potential examination findings common in the conditioning and exercise tolerance group?
Lower pain and disability scores
long duration of symptoms
no signs of nerve root compression
no peripheralization of symptoms
What are the potential examination findings common in the pain control group?
High pain and disability scores
Recent onset of symptoms
Traumatic onset
referred symptoms
poor overall tolerance to examination
What are the potential examination findings common in the reduce headache group?
Unilateral headache and neck pain
headache made worse by head movement
Headache made worse with pressure to posterior neck
Your patient presents with a recent onset of symptoms, restricted range of motion, but no signs of radicular symptoms. What are some potential intervention types?
Cervical and thoracic spinal mobilization/manipulation
Active ROM exercises
(Mobility group)
Your patient presents with a positive compression and distraction test. What are some potential intervention strategies?
Mechanical/manual traction
repeated movements
Your patient presents with hypermobility, low pain scores, and no signs of peripheralization/centralization during ROM. what are some potential intervention strategies?
Strength and endurance exercise for the neck and upper quarter
Aerobic conditioning
(conditioning and exercise group)
Your patient presents with bilateral headache, limited ROM, and multisegmented weakness. What are some potential intervention strategies?
trick question baby. These are signs of upper ligamentous instability. refer back to physician
Your patient presents with unilateral headache, and headache triggered by neck movement/pressure. What are some potential intervention strategies?
Cervical spine manipulation
Strengthening of neck and upper quarter muscles
Posture education
(Reduce headache)
Your patient presents with referred symptoms, poor tolerance to examination, and high pain scores. What are some potential intervention strategies?
Gentle AROM, Physical modalities, activity modification
What are some things you may ask your patient during the subjective exam, in regard to patient profile?
Occupation (what they do, how many hours do they work, what is work environment like)
Length of employment (any recent work changes?)
Physical restrictions or limitations currently?
Hobbies (goals?)
What are some potential concerns you may hear during the patient profile subjective exam?
They have stressful/harmful work environment
Extreme physical activity
sedentary lifestyle
Fear avoidance beliefs
What kind of questions can help you determine the area of symptoms?
Can you show me where your pain is?
Can you describe how your pain feels?
Do you have pain all the time?
Are you in pain right now?
Does the intensity of pain change throughout the day?
What is the single most important aspect of the patient interview?
area of symptoms, it helps us determine the initial hypothesis
True/false?
Your patient has a recent onset of constant pain at high levels that is made worse with all movement. This a behavior of mechanical pain.
False. this is the behavior of chemical pain.
Patient will also respond favorably to NSAIDS, and it will take time for pain to calm down
Your patient c/o long term intermittent pain that varies. They describe their pain as short lived and changing depending on position. What behavior classification does this patient fit in?
mechanical pain behavior
What questions can you ask to determine the behavior of your patients symptoms?
Are there any positions that make your symptoms worse?
Does your pain get better or worse throughout the day?
True/false?
It is not concerning if your patient can’t describe any agitating factors/they feel worse in unloaded positions
False.
If symptoms are not influenced by activity it may not be a mechanical issue. Should consider reffering back to physician
What is the general prognosis for a back pain patient with the inability to sleep?
poor prognosis
What type of questions should you ask in the history portion of the evaluation?
When did this problem begin?
Any recent changes in your lifestyle/job?
Have you had any treatment for this before?
What types of things would be red flags in the history portion of the evaluation?
Rapid progression
no relief of symptoms
insidious onset
The neck disability index is a questionare with a score 0-50. What is the cutoff for prognosis?
a score >30% is correlated to a poorer prognosis
What is the numeric pain rating scale?
questionare about pain on a scale 1-10. currently, best, worst, and over the past 24 hours
What is the patient specific functional scale?
Patient identifies three items they find difficult to complete, and rates the difficulty from a scale 0-10 (0- unable to complete, 10 unable to complete as well as they could prior to disorder)
what is the global rating of change scale?
patient rates how much they feel they have improved since beginning treatment. -7 (great deal worse) 0 (the same) +7 (very great deal better)
A patient puts they are unsure/agree that movement may make their pain worse. Is this a cause for concern?
Yes, should be a concern for fear avoidance behavior. further assessment is needed
What is the purpose of the physical examination during initial evaluation?
Helps to support/refute initial hypothesis made during subjective
Clarifies treatment options
What are some things you want to look for while observing the patient?
ability to sit-stand, sit-supine, gait analysis, willingness to move
What are some things you want to look for while evaluation ROM?
Normal v.s abnormal range, quality of movement, symptoms changes while moving
What is the normal ROM for flexion?
45*
Normal ROM for extension?
45*
Normal ROM for side-bending?
45*
Normal ROM for rotation?
60*
Retraction consists of what two movements?
upper cervical flexion and lower cervical extension
Protraction consists of what two movements?
Upper cervical extension and lower cervical flexion
What is the benefit of using a combined movement during a screen?
Quick screen to assess pain provocation (can rule out multiple things as once)
What is the benefit of overpressure?
Clears a motion as potential source of pain/limitation
What is the optimal position for performing repeated movement testing?
Good posture sitting, with feet on the floor.
What are assessing when you do passive range of motion?
movement between segments
end feel
patient response to movement
What is PAIVM?
Passive accessory intervertebral motion testing
Examining movement, end-feel, response to pain
What are the grades of PAIVM?
Hypomobile, hypermobile, normal end-feel
What are the two main types of PAIVM testing?
general: distraction/traction
Specific: CVP/UVP
what information does resisted isometric break testing provide?
information regarding tissue reactivity
what information does MMT provide?
evaluates strength
What information does deep neck flexor testing provide?
endurance of the neck muscles
What are the two main types of deep neck flexor tests?
Craniocervical flexion test
Neck flexor endurance
What tests can you use for neurological symptoms?
Cranial nerve testing
Deep tendon reflexes
myotome testing
sensation testing
ULNTT
Special tests (babinski, hoffmans)
Are the babinski reflex and hoffmans sign tests more specific or more sensitive?
specific (Rule- IN)
Is elvys test sensitive or specific?
Sensitive (Rule-Out)
what are some things you look for during palpation?
soft/bony
Tender/painful
muscle tone
skin texture
temperature
Skin, muscle, nerve mobility
what are some potential diagnoses for a patient with neck pain?
Herniated disc
Cervical radiculopathy
Stenosis
Spondylosis
whiplash
cervicogenic headaches
Post-surgical
What are the three MDT classifications?
derangement, dysfunction, postural
What are some potential intervention techniques for treating cervical spine?
directional preference
education
hypo/hypermoility
pain control
conditioning
reduce headache
neuromobilization
what should you include in your patient education?
Prognosis and plan
stages of healing
management of healing
posture awareness
prevention
Home exercise program
Describe derangement syndrome.
presence of directional preference with rapid change in symptoms. associated with obstruction of a particular joint
Describe dysfunction syndrome.
symptoms stem from typical mechanical deformation of structurally impaired tissue