Lower Body Part 1 Flashcards
Assesses posterolateral, posteromedial, subrhizal, and postero-central disc protrusion.
Antalgia Sign
Antalgia Sign: Procedure
Observe the patient in an antalgic lean
Antalgia Sign: Pathomechanics
With unilateral nerve root entrapment from a disc protrusion that creates low back and/or leg pain/symptoms. And the patient moves into a position to stay out of pain.
Antalgia Sign: Indications
The protrusion lateral to the nerve root causes the patient to lean away from the symptoms. The patient that has a unilateral nerve root entrapment with low back and/or leg pain and the disc is medial to the nerve root; the patient will lean into the side of pain. Unilateral symptoms and they lean forward, and then the disc bulge is in front of the nerve root. Patient has bilateral pain, indicates a central disc protrusion.
Correlate with antalgic sign, only you observe the patient going from seated to standing.
Minor Sign
Minor Sign: Procedure
As the patient goes from a seated to a standing position, the examiner observes if the patient is antalgic and has difficulty arising from a seated position (such as using their hands to walk up their body while antalgic).
Minor Sign: Pathomechanics
When a patient has an antalgic lean due to a disc protrusion the patient will sit with that lean. In order to rise from a seated position and stay out of pain as they rise, they will guard themselves upon rising. In the absence of a disc lesion many other low back conditions can be painful enough to cause the patient to guard upon rising.
Minor Sign: Indications
Lean away from the side of pain=lateral disc; lean toward the side of pain=medial disc; lean forward with unilateral pain subrhizal disc; lean forward with bilateral pain central disc and in the absence of a disc lesion difficulty rising from a seated position indicates the patient’s symptoms are severe facet, lumbosacral sprain, strain.
Nachlas Test: Procedure
Patient is prone and relaxed. Doctor passively flexes the patient’s knee, approximating the heel to the same buttock
Nachlas Test: Pathomechanics
The procedure stretches the quads, which in turn pulls on the ASIS, which causes the ilium to extend. During that extension, the ilium compresses up against the sacrum. Compression of the ilium upon the sacrum can cause the sacrum to extend and therefore, extension of the lumbar spine
Nachlas Test: Indications
Production or aggravation of pain in the SI joint on the side being tested indicates SI joint pathology. Pain in the lumbopelvic spine is facet joint. This would be an arthralgia diagnosis
Assess for lumbar nerve root irritation or inflammation from stretch mechanism
Linder’s Sign
Lindner’s Sign: Procedure
Patient is seated. Could be done standing or lying down also, Doctor passively flexes the head, and chin to the chest.
Lindner’s Pathomechanics
The dura mater is attached at the foramen magnum and at the C1 arch. Flexion of the head or neck pulls the dural sac cephalid. Therefore you can pull the nerve roots in the lower spine superiorward and through the IVF’s and spinal canal, and therefore stretch the nerve roots.
Lindner’s Indications
Reproduction or aggravation of local low back pain and/or radiating pain along the course of the nerve (upper lumbar = femoral nerve, lower lumber = sciatic nerve) could indicate nerve root pathology
Assesses for pathological involvement in the SI joint structures, mainly the gluteus medius muscle or the posterior superior iliac joint capsule
Mennell’s Sign
Mennell’s Sign: Procedure
Could be done seated or prone. The examiner stands behind the patient and palpates lateral to the PSIS for symptomatology, and then medial to the PSIS for the symptomatology.
Mennell’s Sign: Pathomechanics
When palpating lateral to the PSIS you are palpating the tendon of the gluteus medius, and when palpating medial to the PSIS, you are palpating the capsule of the superior sacral iliac ligament.
Mennell’s Sign: Indications
Reproduction of symptoms lateral to the PSIS will be a gluteus medius muscle involvement, and medial will be superior sacral iliac ligament involvement
Assesses for facet joint surface pathology, nerve root encroachment by an intervertebral disc. Could also assess for muscle strain, ligament sprain
Kemp’s Test
Kemp’s Test: Procedure
(Two parts) Part I is standing. Part II is seated. If the patient has low back pain, a standing test should be done first. Part I: If the patient has unilateral problem, you will support the ipsilateral posterior ilium on the side of pain with one hand. With your other arm, grasp across the back of the patient shoulders. Then you will flex the patient forward and to the side away from testing, then extend, lateral flex and rotate toward the symptomatic side. Switch and check the other side. Part II: Seated. Perform the same procedure
Kemp’s Test: Pathomechanics
You compress the facet joints and narrow the IVF toward the side that you are testing on the standing patient. When performed seated, you load the disc, which may cause a contained disc protrusion to bulge more than it already is. When you extend and rotate to the side being tested, you will cause the disc to bulge even more.
Kemp’s Test: Indications
When performed standing, aggravation or reproduction of pain being localized will be facets. Radiating pain will be a nerve root being compressed. In seated, reproduction or aggravation of low back and radiating pain indicates a disc encroaching on a nerve root.
2 tests that assess for meningeal irritation
Brudzinski Sign
Kernig Sign
Brudzinski Sign: Procedure
This sign is seen when the patient is lying supine and passive cervical flexion is performed
Brudzinski Sign: Pathomechanics
Any passive cervical flexion stretches the dura mater cephalad because of its attachment to the foramen magnum and C1 vertebral arch stretching the lumbar nerve root and the sciatic nerve
Brudzinski Sign: Indication
The sign seen in this procedure is the patient flexing their knees bilaterally to relieve the tension in the hamstring muscles and therefore sciatic nerve and the stretch on the dura