Palpation And Motion Flashcards
Somatic dysfunction
Impaired/altered function of related components of the somatic (body framework) system
Somatic system
Skin, fascia, muscle, arthrodial, and related vascular, lymphatic, and neural elements
T.A.R.t
. Tissue texture abnormality
. positional Asymmetry
. Restriction of motion
. tenderness
Palpation
. Application of variable manual pressure to surface of body to determine shape, size, consistency, position, motility, and health of tissues beneath
. Cornerstone of effective diagnosis and treatment
What can be determined through palpation?
Location, severity, and relevance of T.A.R.t
What is determined in identifying T.A.R. t?
. Motion impediment or restriction
. Interrelationship of structure and function and if it is messed up
What touch receptors are used in palpation exam and where are they most numerous?
. Merkel’s disks and Meissner’s corpuscles
. Numerous in finger pads
Are heat receptors superficial or deep to touch receptors?
Deep
What does light palpation reveal?
. Findings in skin and subcutaneous tissue
. Skin temp., moisture, texture, and turgor
Resting tone
. Normal feel of a resting muscle
. Can be hyper/hypotonic, or atomic compared with normal resting tone
What does deeper palpation reveal?
. Bones and joints
. Bony landmarks that are origin/insertion for muscles
What causes lack of turgor in skin?
Presence of dehydration, aging, and certain metabolic conditions
What does increased sympathetic tone to skin cause?
. Localized inc. in sweating and dec. in skin elasticity
. Keeps skin tight
Skin drag reaction
. Sense of resistance to light traction applied to skin and related to degree of moisture and degree of sympathetic nervous system activity
. Reflects area of somatic dysfunction
. Also indicated congestion if skin stays red
Where are changes from skin drag most intense in thoracic spine?
Costo-transverse articulation
Skin rolling test
. Grasp pinch of skin between thumb and index over area of palpable tissue change
. Pull skin away and note degree of resistance
. Could by hyperalgesic but not painful
What is common location for edema?
Subcutaneous tissue
Viscerosomatic reflexes produce tissue texture abnormality in what part of body and what are the characteristics of the abnormalities?
. Subcutaneous tissue
. Puffy, boggy, and rubbery feel
Long muscles receive innervation from ______ while short, deep muscles receive innervation from ____
Multiple spinal segments (long), single segments (short)
Long spinal muscles are ___ to short muscles
Superficial
What are long spinal muscles involved in?
. Postural patterns and group curves
. Lack segmental specificity
What are short spinal muscles involved in?
Segmental movement/dysfunction
Best way to palpate muscle
. Palpate in direction perpendicular to the fibers
. Superficial muscle: side to side
. Deep (oblique): vertical/ up-down
Hypertonic muscles characteristics
. Feel ropy/stringy
. Lack of homogeneity
. Bogginess
Flaccidity and cause
. No muscle tone
. Caused by disruption of proper neuronal info to the muscle (nerve root compression
Increased muscle tone is a sign of ____
Anxiety, inc. sympathetic outflow, or facilitated neural reflexes
Rough skin
Bumpy irregular surface
Smooth skin
Surface free from irregularities, roughness, or projections
Soft skin
Smooth or fine to the touch w/o firmness
Boggy sub-Q
Quality of inc. fluid (wet sponge)