L11: Spine & LE Flashcards
Lower extremity arterial supply
- Femoral artery
- Popliteal artery
- Dorsalis pedis artery
- Posterior tibial artery
Lower Extremity Venous System
- Superficial System
- Great and Small (Lesser) Saphenous veins
- Deep System
- Femoral vein
- Communicating or perforating veins
Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD): Arterial vs. Venous Ulcers
- Pain
- Edema
- Pulse
- Drainage
- Sores
- Skin
- Location of sores
- Treatment? Surgical treatment?
Peripheral Artery Insufficiency: Inspection
What are the signs of peripheral artery insufficiency that you would observe (inspection)?
- Pallor
- Dependent rubor
- Distal hair loss
- Atrophic skin, nail changes
- Ulcers
- Necrosis, gangrene
Peripheral Artery Insufficiency: Palpation
Which pulses to check?
Expected skin temperature?
Capillary refill time?
- Pulses:
- Femoral, popliteal, dorsalis pedis, posterior tibial
- Skin temperature:
- Cool
- Capillary refill:
- Delayed (> 2 sec)
Peripheral Artery Insufficiency: Auscultation
What are you auscultating for? Where?
- Auscultation for bruits
- Abdominal Aorta
- Femoral and popliteal arteries
Venous Insufficiency: Inspection
What would you observe (inspection) in venous insufficiency?
Dilated, tortuous superficial veins that result from defective structure and function of the valves
Venous Insufficiency: Clinical Presentation
How does venous insufficiency present?
- Dull ache or pressure sensation after prolonged standing; relieved with elevation
- Dependent ankle edema and ankle ulcerations may develop
- Superficial thrombosis/thrombophlebitis may occur
Varicose Veins
What is it? Cause?
- Venous insufficiency
- Enlarged veins
- Due to malfunction of their valves causing improper flow of blood, and pooling as a result
Stasis Dermatitis
Cause?
Brawny edema?
- Due to chronic venous insufficiency with incompetent valves and higher pressure in capillary bed.
- Tissue is damaged and inflamed.
- Brawny edema: non-pitting edema
Lymphedema
What is it?
- Lymphedema: lymphphatic obstruction
- Swelling due to due to blockage in the lymphatic system
Lower Extremity: Subdivisions
What are the subdivisions of the lower extremity?
Subdivisions:
- Hip
- Thigh
- Knee
- (Lower) Leg
- Ankle
- Foot
- Hindfoot, Midfoot, Forefoot
LE: General Inspection
What are you evaluating the lower extremity for?
Evaluate Lower extremity for the following:
- Color
- Swelling
- Masses
- Varicosities
- Grossdeformity
- Involuntarymovements
- Gait
- Symmetry
- Skin folds
- Length
- Size
- Hypertrophy v. atrophy
LE: Palpation
What are you palpating the lower extremity for?
- Palpate all lower extremity bones, joints, and surrounding muscles for the following:
- Muscle tone
- Warmth
- Tenderness
- Crepitus
- Popliteal fossa
- Pulses
- Edema
Assess for areas of tenderness
LE: Range of Motion
What are you assessing?
- Test ROM: Actively or Passively
- Both are required for a complete exam
- Watch for limitations of movement
- Assess for instability, pain, clicking, locking, crepitus
- Complete full ROM
LE: Range of Motion
What are you testing in the hip?
Knee?
Ankle/foot?
Isolate and stabilize each joint during strength testing and compare bilaterally
- Hip:
- abduction and adduction
- flexion and extension
- Internal and external rotation
- Knee:
- flexion** and **extension
- Ankle/Foot:
- dorsiflexion and plantar flexion
- inversion and eversion
- Internal and external rotation (adduction and abduction)
- toe flexion and extension
- supination and pronation
Hip Joint
What type of joint?
Allowed movements?
- Weight bearing joint with strong muscle groups:
- Freely movable joint supported
- Flexors & extensors
- Abductors & adductors
Hip & Thigh: Inspection
What position are you inspecting the patient in?
- Patient already supine (just finished abdomen and inguinal region)
- Examination of inguinal region will only be verbalized for the practical: nodes, pulses, hernias.
- Expose lower extremities
- Inspect Hips and Thighs, verbalizing landmarks
- Assess anterior and lateral for abnormality
- Evaluate for limbs ymmetry and leg length equality
Hip: Palpation
What landmarks are you palpating on the hip?
- Anterior landmarks
- Iliac crest
- Anterior superior iliac spine
- Pubic symphysis
- Posterior-lateral landmarks
- Greater trochanter
- Ischial tuberosity
- Thigh
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Femur
Hip: ROM
What ROM is being assessed?
Which actions require strenght testing?
How to perform each test
-
ROM
- Abduction and adduction
- Flexion and extension
- Internal and external rotation
-
Strength testing
- Abduction, adduction, flexion
Trendelenburg Test
What is this testing?
How to perform test?
What is a positive result?
What does the positive result indicate?
- Observe the patient from behind
- Ask patient to lift leg with hip and knee flexion
Positive: pelvis drops > 2 cm and indicates weakness of the contralateral hip abductors
FADIR
What is this testing?
How to perform test?
What is a positive result?
What does the positive result indicate?
- Impingement Test
- FADIR: Flexion, Adduction, Internal Rotation
- Positive: Reproduction of anterolateral hip pain consistent with FAI
FABER
What is this testing?
How to perform test?
What is a positive result?
What does the positive result indicate?
- Patrick Test, Figure-of-Four
- FABER: Flexion, Abduction, External Rotation
- Positive: pain to groin, SI joint, or posterior hip
Knee Joint
What type of joint?
Condylar Joint
Knee: Inspection
What are you inspecting for?
- Alignment and contour of the knees
- Atrophy
- Swelling
- Patellar tracking
- Obvious deformity
Lower Leg: Inspection
What are you inspecting for?
Size and symmetry
Swelling/edema
Venous pattern
Texture of the skin
Distribution of hair
Knee: Palpation
What landmarks are you palpating?
- Palpation of landmarks:
- Quadriceps tendon
- Patella
- Patellar tendon
- Medial & lateral joint lines
- Tibial tuberosity