In physical therapy, patients come to the clinic with a long list of symptoms and a specific mechanism of injury. It is the physical therapists job to take this information and form hypotheses of what pathology may be affecting the patient. With the patient that has been presented in this case, a full history shows a very good description of symptoms and what the patient remembers happening when the injury occurred. With this history, an examination plan can be created in order to make this examination process thorough, but efficient. A hypothesis that can be made from the patient’s report is that she is suffering from cervical radiculopathy, or a nerve root lesion. Symptoms that describe cervical radiculopathy include: arm pain in a dermatome distribution, pain increased by extension, rotation, and/or side flexion, possible relief of pain from arm positioned overhead, affected sensation, altered hand function, no spasticity, and no change to gait or bowel and bladder function (Magee, 2008, p. 142). These symptoms correlate to what the patient reported as a result of her injury. She stated that her pain is in the posterolateral upper and lower arm with aching and paresthesia in the thumb and index finger, which is in the dermatome pattern of cervical root 5 and 6 (C5, C6) (Magee, 2008, p. 25). She also reports lancinating pain with extension or rotation to the right of her head. There are several tests and measure that can be done in a physical therapy examination in order to rule out certain diagnoses, as well as come closer to a physical therapy diagnosis. First, an observation of the patient standing, walking, and sitting should be done in order to associate any visible deficits in the patient that could be associated to the ... ... middle of paper ... ... hypothesis and use tests and measures to confirm that hypothesis or bring them in a new direction to find a diagnosis. This patient reported symptoms that suggested cervical radiculopathy, and the special tests that were mentioned had the ability to indicate that this hypothesis is likely the case, or show that other pathologies must be considered. Works Cited Dutton, M. (2012). Dutton's Orthopaedic examination, evaluation, and intervention (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. Magee, D. J. (2008). Orthopedic physical assessment (5th ed.). St. Louis, Mo: Saunders Elsevier. Shabat, S., Leitner, Y., David, R., & Folman, Y. (2012). The correlation between Spurling test and imaging studies in detecting cervical radiculopathy. Journal Of Neuroimaging: Official Journal Of The American Society Of Neuroimaging, 22(4), 375-378. doi: 10.1111/j.1522-6569.2011.00644.x
Back with no tenderness over her kidney area. She does have a scar in her low back. Scar is surrounded by some blotchy redness, but the patient states this always looks like this. She does have pain to palpation above the scarred area and her low back. She has decreased range of motion of her low back, in general. Flexion however, causes significant pain and she is reluctant to do this. She has no pain when flexing her neck.
through the Eyes of a Participant Observer." Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. Vol. 20, No. 1, 19 Jan. 2012, p. 1. EBSCOhost. 2017 October 25.
The NDI has shown to be reliable and valid for patients with neck pain. Because patients with cervical radiculopathy frequently presents with neck pain and as no other outcome tools has been shown to be superior to the NDI for use with patients with cervical radiculopathy, NDI has been included as one of the health outcome assessment tools.11
The doctor may also perform biochemical marker tests on the blood and urine which can give an indicator of the rate of loss or regeneration of bones. X-ray and Vertebral Fracture Assessments (VFAs) can also be performed to establish if there are any cracks in the spine. Other tests that the doctor can carry out include CT scan and MRI to get a clear picture of the internal bone structure including the possibility of changes that may have been caused by conditions such as
Consult online reviews of orthopedic surgeons. Billions of people are now on the web. The ease of access means more people will leave online reviews of doctor experience. Research the orthopedic specialists in the area to find out who is considered to be a top surgeon. In many cases, reviews of orthopedic specialists online allow the patient to post in a more honest manner.
“The physician performs a variety of tests to evaluate mental, emotional and language functions, movement and coordination, balance, vision, and the other four senses (Diagnosing
Symptoms in neck and shoulder pain include pain, numbness, and tingling. These symptoms can cause problems in the workplace or unable to perform daily tasks. The causes of musculoskeletal disorders include equipment that is poorly designed or improperly used. The use of various types of force by parts of the body; awkward posture; repetition; the use of maintain daily tasks. (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh2.nr0.htm.).
During testing, most patients are found to need correction in all 14 balance tests, depending on the ailment the patient complains of and how well they react to the muscle correction will tell whether or not further treatment is needed. The physical aspect of the therapy, despite the name and basic principles, is not the only aspect required for optimal results. One must also report lifestyle and diet changes ranging from daily stress levels to pat...
There is a lot of shadowing and interning that ties into physical therapy because, as mentioned earlier, the main aspect of this job is the literal physicality of it. Therefore, there isn’t much room for writing involved in this process, because it’s more of getting a sense of how to deal with patients, more hands-on rather than technical. The image I picked for my meme, of an older PT helping an intern work a machine, shows just what kind of firsthand experience is involved in the field. When I asked Rebozzi what some of the best things about being a physical therapist were, she told me, “it’s not a desk job, so that’s a plus.” This illustrates how, even if physical therapists do have to write a lot every day, the majority of their job is
The occupation of physical therapy has been around for centuries. Throughout time it has evolved greatly as a medical practice and an area of study. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2012, there were 204,200 physical therapists employed throughout the United States of America.
The doctor might also conduct a physical examination to confirm the diagnosis. This is carried out by listening...
Orthopedic conditions may be treated by your physician and/or other medical specialists and healthcare providers. Several physicians from different medical specialties may be involved in the treatment at the same time. This multidisciplinary team approach is particularly important in managing the symptoms of an orthopedic condition, especially as many symptoms are chronic and change in severity over time. Some of the more common medical professionals involved in the treatment of orthopedic conditions may include the following:
A detailed patient history including history of any recent trauma or systemic disease such as renal or cardiovascular problems should be taken. The diagnosis is usually reached by a high clinical suspicion through the history and physical examination.
"What Tests Might Be Ordered ." Penn Orthopaedics . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .