Muskuloskeletal System Flashcards
What are the two things to keep in mind when looking at Musculoskeletal System?
Alignment
CMS Checks (Circulatory, Motor, Sensation)
What is dislocation?
What does it cause?
Complete displacement or separation of the articulating surfaces
Severe injury to ligaments around a joint
What is Subluxation?
What does it cause compared to dislocation
- Partial or Complete Displacement of the Joint Surface
- Less severe than Dislocation
What are signs and symptoms of dislocation and subluxation?
Asymmetry of musculoskeletal contour Local pain Tenderness Loss of function Swelling in the joint region
What are treatments for dislocation and subluxation?
- Prompt reduction of dislocation
- Relief of pain
- Protect the joint through Immobilization
Why do people use Skin Traction for short term treatment of muskuloskeletal injuries?
Treats inflammation in joints before surgery or skeletal traction available
What is Skin Traction?
What are the effects of skin traction?
What is another name for it?
Pulls the skin and joints a little bit apart
- Takes pressure off of joint surfaces
- Decreases muscle spasms
- Decreases Inflammation
Buck’s Traction
What do you need to worry about in skin traction?
What do you need to worry about in skeletal traction?
Skin shearing
Infection
What do you need to remember about traction?
Don’t take them off of traction
NEVER twist the affected area of the patient when moving them
What do you need to know about temperature care when in a cast?
Heat from an infection and Cold from an ice pack can transfer through the cast
What is one complication you need to worry about when using a cast?
Compartment Syndrome
What are the six P’s in neurovascular assessment?
Pain
-Especially severe & unrelieved
Pulses
-Check both affected & unaffected
Paresthesia
-Numbness or tingling
Pallor
-Pale color
Paralysis
- ROM
- Strength
Polar
-Coolness
When does usually compartment syndrome occur?
Occurs 4-12 hours after device applied
What is compartment syndrome and what causes it?
What can you do to possibly avoid it?
Increasing pressure within the confined myofascial walls compromises the neurovascular function of tissues within that space
- Edema
- Decreased Perfusion
- Increased Ischemia
- Tight dressings
- Tight casts
- Tight splints
CMS Checks
What are ways to assess Compartment Syndrome?
- Loss Function
- Increasing pain that is UNRELIEVED by opioid analgesia
- Increasing pain with stretching of the muscle compartment
- Paresthesia (abnromal sensation- burning, pricking, or tingling)
- Taut (stretched or pulled tight, no slack) skin over the injured area
What can you do when lying down to check for low back pain?
If you lay down and you try to raise your leg and you can’t do it because of the pain, you have low back pain.
What are some reasons that can make fractures occur more easily?
Osteoporosis
Chronic Corticosteroid Use
How long does buck’s traction usually last?
How heavy are the weights being used?
Short Term: 48-72 hours
5-10 pounds
How long does bone traction usually last?
How heavy are the weights being used?
Long Term: >72
4-45 pounds
What two things can increase the chances of getting a fracture?
Osteoporosis
Chronic Corticosteroid Use
Fact:
Adjacent Structures are affected when bones are fractured
Fact:
Fractures are accompanied by localized tissue inflammation and muscle spasm
What are some not well known risk factors for fractures?
- Decreased Circulation
- Immunocompromised status
- Presence of Infection (systemic or osteomyelitis)
- Neoplasms (specifically bone cancer)
- Cushings Syndrome
What are some manifestations of Fractures?
- Distal loss of pulse or sensation
- Muscle Spasms
- Ecchymosis (Extravasation of blood causes bruising)
- Crepitation (grating or crackling sound or sensation produced by the fractured ends of a bone moving against each other)
What is a closed reduction of a fracture?
Non-surgical, manual realignment of bone fragments to the previous position
-Traction is usually applied
