The Cervical Spine Flashcards
Red flag: risk factors for spinal fractures
Age greater than 50
History of trauma
History of osteoporosis
History of steroid use
Red flag: Signs and symptoms of cord compression
Clumsiness of hands- fine motor skills
Stumbling or unsteady gait
Unilateral or bilateral paresthesia or anaethesia
Bowel or bladder dysfunction
Red flag: risk factors/signs for Cancer
Age greater than 50
Previous history of cancer
Unexplained weight loss- 5-10% in 3-6months
Fatigue
What are the 5 D’s And 3 N’s for VBI and CAD signs?
Dizziness, Diplopia, Dysarthria, Dysphagia, Drop attacks
Ataxia
Nausea, Nystagmus, Numbness
Horners syndrom- signs and symptoms
- Dropping of upper eyelid, decreased pupil size, sweating
1st order neurons- unilateral symptoms on body
2nd order neurons- unilateral symptoms on face and neck
3rd order neurons- unilateral symptoms on forehead area
What risk factors to be aware of from PMH that puts the patient at risk of CAD or VBI?
Any cardiovascular issues
What is Cervical Arterial Dysfunction?
An umbrella term including all known vascular pathologies and anatomical structures that may be compromised by movement or manual therapy
- Does the patient have vascular pathologies causing the pain and are they at risk of developing a pathology during assessment
What is Vertebrobasiliar insufficiency?
A condition characterized by poor blood flow to the posterior portion of the brain
Observational assessment for cervical spine, what to look for:
- Posture
- Asymmetry
- Lumps/bumps
- Swelling
- Redness
- Temperature changes
- Deformities
- Hypertrophy/atrophy
- Gait
Neural mobilisations: What are they used for?
To restore slide and glide of the nerves and reduce symptoms
Which accessory movements for the cervical spine do we need to know?
Anterior/posterior movement
Posterior/anterior movement
What is cervical myelopathy?
Compression of the spinal cord at the cervical level
Causes of Cervical Myelopathy?
- Trauma
- Tumour
- Ossification (hardening) of the ligaments around the spinal cord
- Osteoarthritis
- Spondylosis
- Stenosis
Common symptoms of Cervical Myelopathy
- Dexterity issues, clumpsy hands
- Unsteady gait
- Glove and stocking like numbness/paresthesia not usually in a dermatomal pattern
- Bladder and bowel dysfunction
- Weakness in arms and hands
What is mechanical neck pain?
Risk factors?
Neck pain that cannot be attributed to a specific pathoanatomical structure or cause
- highly demand careers
- poor postures or sedentary work position
- increasing age
- previous history of neck pain