Musculoskeletal Assessment Flashcards
What is the function of the skeletal system?
– support, protection, movement, storage, blood cell production
What are some risk factors/ redflags for musculoskeletal problems?
- Age
- Mechanism of injury
- Falls
How would you do a general assessment for musculoskeletal problems?
- General appearance and demeanour
- Body proportions and symmetry/asymmetry
- Ease or limitation of movement
- Gait, mobility aids
- Deformities
- Alignment
- Pain
- How do they move into the exam room?
- Look at joint above and below injury
- Do they use the injured part?
- Expose the area completely
- Compare uninsured with injured
- Check sensation and pulse to check nervous supply
What questions should be asked when looking at characteristics of musculoskeletal assessment?
- Pain – nature, location, severity
- Type of pain
- Variation of symptoms over time
- Symptoms which help distinguish inflammatory from non-inflammatory
- Decrease or loss of function or motion. Weakness or restricted
- Movement, deformity and disability, ability to perform usual tasks or occupation
- Altered sensation
- Any pain killers needed
What principles should you follow in an assessment?
- look
- Feel
- Move
During the ‘look’ stage of assessment what should you look out for?
- Exposure and compare – symmetry
- Check joint above and below
- Symmetry and deformity
- Inflammation
- Scar
- Soft tissue swelling
- Lumpy and modules
- Fluid
- Atrophy (muscle wasting and contractures)
- Bruising
- Colour – paleness/cyanosis
- Breaks in skin – ulceration
- Gait
- Rashes (systemicfeatures)
During the ‘feel’ stage of assessment what should you look out for?
Palpation
- Tenderness
- Pain (increased with movement?)
- Temperature – hot or cold
- Swelling
- Crepitation (bone rubbing on bone)
- pulses
- sensations
During the ‘mover’ stage of assessment what should you look out for?
- active (patient does)
- passive (we do)
- resisted
- provactive tests
- range of movement
-Fist, open hand, fingers out, each finger to thumb
- knee – straighten or flexed bent up
State the bones in fingers
Fingers – each three small bones called phalanges (metacarpophalangeal joint (inner most) – interphalangeal joint
State the bones in the wrist and hands
carpal bones – joint in wrist radiocarpal joint
What follow up investigations can be done for a musculoskeletal assessment?
X-rays
Scans – Ct, MRI, Bone
Special tests – nerve root/compression, blood supply, stability, effusion, muscle strength
