Sensory Disturbance

Question 1

What is sensation?

Answer 1

sensation is the process by whuich stimuli are detected by specialised receptors in the skin, muscles or joints and transmitted to the brain via peripheral nervous system. Sensation is also an important part of the body’s defense system.

Question 2

What does the processing of stimuli allow the body to do?

Answer 2

It allows the body to maintain posture, react to pain and noxious stimuli, and use senses such as touch and hearing to provide information about the surrounding environment.

Question 3

What are the three components needed to gather information about sensory disturbance?

Answer 3

1. What symptoms of sensory disturbance does the patient describe?
2. What is the pattern of the sensory disturbance?
3. What is the underlying cause of the sensory disturbance?

Question 4

What types of sensory disturbance symptoms may a patient have?

Answer 4

Positive sensory symptoms or negative sensory symptoms.

Question 5

What are positive sensory symptoms? Give examples

Answer 5

• heightened activity in sensory pathways
• examples: tingling, pins and needles, pricking, burning, tightness, band like sensation around their body, electric shock, pain (sharp/stabbing in nature)
• usually patients with positive symptoms do not have a deficit in sensation

Question 6

What are negative sensory symptoms? Give examples

Answer 6

• loss of sensory function
• examples: numbness, coldness, loss of feeling in a particular distribution
• patients with negative symptoms often report sensory deficit.

Question 7

What does HYPOAESTHESIA mean?

Answer 7

diminished ability to perceive pain, temperature or touch

Question 8

What does ANAESTHESIA mean?

Answer 8

complete inability to perceive pain, temperature or touch

Question 9

What does ANALGESIA mean?

Answer 9

complete insensitivity to pain

Question 10

What does PARAESTHESIA mean?

Answer 10

abnormal sensation perceived without abnormal stimulus

Question 11

What does HYPERAESTHESIA mean?

Answer 11

abnormal increase in sensitivity to a stimulus

Question 12

What does DYSAESTHESIA mean?

Answer 12

all positive sensory changes, whether due to stimulus or not

Question 13

What does HYPERALGESIA mean?

Answer 13

Heightened response to a noxious stimulus

Question 14

What does ALLODYNIA mean?

Answer 14

normal stimulus felt as pain, for example, clothing brushing agaisnt body being felt as pain

Question 15

What are some common patterns of sensory loss?

Answer 15

• A glove and stocking distribution due to peripheral neuropathy
• A dermatomal pattern due to a spinal cord or nerve root lesion
• An area supplied by a particular nerve
• A hemisensory loss, due to a lesion of the spinal cord, brain stem, thalamus or cortex.

Question 16

What are some underlying causes of sensory disturbances pertaining to the CNS?

Answer 16

• cerebrovascular disease, MS, tumours

Question 17

What are some underlying causes of sensory disturbances pertaining to the PNS?

Answer 17

• DB, alcohol excess, nerve entrapment syndromes

Question 18

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding Site?

Answer 18

Where is the sensory disturbance? Does it affect one half of the body? A whole limb? part of the limb? Symmetric/Assymetric?

Question 19

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding Quality?

Answer 19

Establish whether the patient had + or - sensory symptoms or a combination of the two

Question 20

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding Severity?

Answer 20

Degree to which the sensory disturbance has affected ADLs.

Question 21

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding Time Course?

Answer 21

Onset?
Worse at night?
Offest?
Duration?
Episodic?

Question 22

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding Context?

Answer 22

Did you notice anything start at the same time of the symptoms?

Question 23

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding A/R factors?

Answer 23

Worse? Better?

Question 24

What questions would you ask about sensory disturbance regarding Associated Features?

Answer 24

• alcohol use
• medications
• past history (diabetes)
• muscle weakness
• gait
• ulcers, burns, other injuries