RAT Cards Flashcards
What is the single strongest clue of the following supporting a radiculopathy?
a) Repetitive cervical extension centralizes
b) Loss of vibratory sense in the little finger
c) Cervical compression causes arm pain
d) Patellar hyperreflexia
e) shoulder abduction relieves arm symptoms
a) loss of vibratory sense of little finger
Which of the following would be the strongest indication of a radiculopathy?
a) shoulder abduction increases arm pain
b) Valsalva reproduces arm pain
c) SLR creates severe LBP
d) Achilles hyperreflexia
e) ankle clonus
b) Valsalva reproduces arm pain
Your patient landed hard on her snow mobile after hitting a mogul and becoming airborne; she experienced immediate LBP which of the following would be on your DDX?
a) Disc derangement
b) Disc herniation with nerve root damage
c) Lumbar strain
d) Lumbar sprain
e) Facet syndrome
d) lumbar sprain
Your patient has signs and symptoms of lumbar radicular syndrome. which of the following would be at the top of your DDX list?
a) disc derangement
b) spinal stenosis
c) metastatic bone cancer
d) facet syndrome
e) spurs lodged in IVF
b) spinal stenosis
Based on the results of your history and physical your patient may have a spinal disease. what should be ordered first?
CRP, CBC, blood chemistry screen
What two ancillary tests can actually confirm that nerve roots/nerves are damaged and not functioning properly?
Electromyelograph and nerve velocity (conduction) test
Your patient has a low back flexion load sensitivity and has to sit all day at work. What are two recommendations you could suggest?
Perform hip hinging (abdominal bracing) and bruegger’s relief position [many others]
What are two specific diagnosis to think of first when a pt has LBP w/o nerve symptoms after a high load flexion injury?
Lumbar sprain (posterior ligaments), compression fracture
Excluding diseases what are three common SI injury diagnoses covered in class?
SI joint dysfunction, SI syndrome, SI sprain
Your 68 year old patient has LBP, no leg symptoms but is getting progressive foot drop. What lumbar diagnosis are you most concerned about? what would be the first ancillary test to order?
The patient may have an SOL.
First order an x-ray and then order an MRI.
Your pt landed hard on her snowmobile after hitting a mogul and becoming airborne; she experienced immediate low back pain. What are your top two dx concerns in the lumbar spine for this patient?
Compression fracture or a lumbar sprain
Your pt has a low back extension load sensitivity. Based on the coursenotes, what are 3 specific activity modifications you could suggest?
Lower items in the shower, don’t wear high heels, no heavy lifting above the waist
What are three specific diagnosis to think when your patient has LBP due to a high load flexion history?
Disc injury, sprain of posterior lumbar ligaments, compression fractures
In an AS patient what two special spine related physical exams should be performed?
Schober’s test; Normal: at least 5cm of additional separation when two marks are placed on the spine 10 cm apart
Chest expansion; Normal is > or equal to 5cm
Which of the following would suggest a possible radiculopathy in a patient with radicular arm pain?
a) Repetitive cervical extension centralizes the arm symptoms
b) Grade 4 muscle weakness of the biceps
c) Valsalva causes arm pain
d) Tricep hyperreflexia
e) Shoulder abduction relieves the arm symptoms
b) Grade 4 muscle weakness of the biceps
What are the four more general categories of injury besides trauma?
repetitive/overuse, normal movement in an unstable spine, sudden unguarded motion, sustained postural loading
What are the parts of the 5 item toolbox to determine neuropathic pain
Pain (distal/dermatomal, stab/electric, extremity worse than BP, affected by spinal loading)
paresthesia in a dermatomal distribution
Change in SMR
Nerve tension tests recreating pain
Spinal loading/positioning with immediate pain
Your patient has a low back extension load sensitivity and he has a job where he has to stand most of the day. Based on the course notes, what are 2 specific activity modifications you could suggest?
Lean over the desk to create flexion in the low back
Stand with one leg perched on ledge or stool
What are 2 specific diagnoses to think of when a patient lands hard on his buttock and now has LBP (but no leg symptoms)?
Lumbar sprain and compression fracture
What are 5 diseases that cause sacroiliitis covered in this course?
What test would be most positive with all of these
AS, RA, Reiter’s syndrome, Psoriatic arthritis, enterpathic arthropathies (chron’s and ulcerative colitis)
HLA-B27
You suspect that your patient may have a disease causing her LBP. What are the first 4 ancillary studies to consider ordering?
Plain film x-rays, ESR, CBC, Complete Metabolic Panel
Beginning at what age would you want to x-ray a patient with sudden onset of spontaneous low back pain?
70
The patient may be osteoporotic with a spontaneous fracture
At what age in men and women should you start to suspect an AAA as a cause of sudden spontaneous low back pain?
Men: 50-55 y/o
Women: 60-65 y/o
What is the most common location for a compression fracture?
TLJ (T12-L1)
What are all three physical exam findings from the 5 point checklist to detect neural damage in a patient with low back and leg pain?
Changes in SMR
Pain recreated with nerve tension tests
Change in symptoms with change in spinal loading
What are four major types of categories that should trigger ordering an MRI in a patient within the first few visits of managing a suspected disc herniation?
Muscle weakness is progressing or severe
Signs of CES
Suspected upper lumbar disc herniation
Performed as part of a surgical consult
List 4 clues from the physical supporting a disc derangement. Which is strongest?
Flexion load sensitivity
Pain centralizes with extension (strongest)
Worse with sitting
Painful or tender adjacent SP
What are 5 positive physical exam findings that support a cervical dis derangement
Neck flexion load sensitivity
Pain centralizes with repetitive extension
Pain with cervical compression
Pain with Valsalva
Pain is relieved with cervical distraction
Besides a hyperextension injury what are two other traumatic mechanisms that can directly damage a nerve root?
Fall on head laterally flexing head away and depressing arm.
Fall directly on head causing axial compression
Your patient has neck pain accompanied by sharp pain along the back of the triceps and a “numb” feeling in the 4th and 5th fingers. Neck AROM is severely limited in flexion due to neck pain. Cervical compression and Valsalva create neck pain and the
shoulder abduction test decreases the finger numbness. SMR testing are all normal. Write a complete diagnosis for this case.
Mild traumatic C8 disc herniation with paresthesia to 4th and 5th finger