Orthopedic/Musculoskeletal Disorders Flashcards
Parts of the musculoskeletal system
Bones
Muscles
Joints
Cartilage
Ligaments
Tendons
Nerves
Skin/scars
Joints
space between 2 articular surfaces
Types:
- Synarthrosis
- Amphiarthrosis
- Diarthrosis
* ball and socket (greatest degree of freedom)
* condyloid
* gliding
* hinge
* pivot
* saddle
Cartilage
Lines articular bones
Protects against impact and friction
Gets blood through osmosis, so it doesn’t easily heal, if at all
No nerves, so it doesn’t hurt when you tear it
Thickening of cartilage in the knee - meniscus or disc
Types:
- Hyaline cartilage: most common; found in nose and ribs
- Fibrocartilage: found in intervertebral disks, joint capsules, and ligaments
Ligaments
Connect articulating bones
Prevent movement
Have very little vascular supply
Take a long time to heal
Ulnar collateral ligament of MP joint of thumb
- Gamekeeper’s thumb or skier’s thumb
- AKA medial collateral ligament
Grades of ligament sprains
Grade I: stretch the ligament causing mild swelling and pain with stress testing, but no laxity
Grade II: partial tear resulting in more moderate swelling and pain along with some laxity on stress testing; have definitive endpoint with stress testing
Grade III: complete tear with a lot of pain, swelling, and gross laxity on stress testing without any definitive endpoint
Grade IV: not really a sprain; avulsion fracture
Types of muscle movement
Isotonic
- eccentric: lengthening of muscle
- concentric: shortening of muscle
Isometric
- muscle contraction, not shortening or lengthening
- happens with co-contraction of flexors and extensors
Energy metabolism of muscles
METS (metabolic equivalent task score)
Primary engine that burns calories
What to muscles do?
Move the body
Energy metabolism
Generate body heat
Atrophy and hypertrophy
What is muscle atrophy?
muscle wasting, often with age
Muscle fibers
All or none
- motor unit: motor neuron and its end plate
- recruitment
Muscle spasm or cramp
Painful condition of muscle contraction (temporary)
Reason is varied and unknown
Muscle spasticity
Involuntary, intense, and sometimes painful contraction due to inappropriate CNS neural signs
Not strength
Ashworth’s scale
Muscle contracture
Muscle shortening from being stationary
Muscle fatigue
Decreased blood supply
Exhaustion of ACT
Accumulation of lactic acid (most common)
Myalgia
Muscle strain
RICE
Bleed and bruise
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Extreme fatigue lasting for at least 6 months and can’t be explained by any other medical cause
Symptoms:
- Post-exertional malaise
- Unrefreshing sleep
- Brain fog
- Muscle and joint pain
- Headache and light sensitivity
- Chills
- Stomach pain, bloating, nausea
- Sinus problems, swollen glands, tender lymph nodes, sore throat
No known cause or cure
Fibromyalgia
Often triggered by physical or emotional stress
If you have lupus or rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you are more likely to develop fibromyalgia.
Symptoms:
- Fatigue, cognitive and memory problems, headaches, diziness, trouble sleeping
- Vision problems
- Tender points
- Nausea
- Urinary problems, dysmenorrhea in women
- Restless leg syndrome
- Joint pain and stiffness
- Skin problems
- Muscle pain
- Jaw pain
Medication and stress reduction can help symtoms.
Bones
Provide structure
Reservoir of calcium and phosphate
Site of hematopoiesis
- RBC creation
Haversian canals (blood vessels in bones)
- avascular necrosis
- Kienbock’s disease: lunate (high risk for avascular necrosis)
Epiphyseal plates
- harden at 18 for women and 22 for men
- bone mass decreases at 40-60
Constant rate of uptake and production
- osteoblasts and osteocytes produce
- osteoclasts absorb
Wolfe’s law
What is Wolfe’s law?
Soft tissue (musculoskeletal tissue and bone) responds to the forces placed on it.
- Weight bearing can decrease the affect of the disease
- Osteoporosis can begin 6 weeks after spine injury
Rickets (Osteomalacia)
- bad bones
- due to vitamin D and E deficiency
- common in children outside the US
- bowing is caused by bodyweight
- can be corrected
Nerves
Get impinged or compressed by soft tissue or neuromuscular structures
- can get compressed against humerus when sleeping funny
Radial nerve
Innervates extensor wad
Responsible for wrist, thumb, and MP extension
Clinical presentation:
- Weakness of wrist dorsiflexion and finger extension, causing wrist drop and MP drop
What happens if there is damage to the axilla?
All radial-innervated muscles are involved
- anconeus and triceps
Decreased sensation
Arm drop
Limp and uncoordinated self-feeding
Very jerky
What happens if there is damage to the spiral groove?
All radial-innervated muscles distal to the triceps are weak
- extensor wad in forearm