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 ...
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... 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
After the injury has occurred, the injured should see the family doctor or possibly a specialist to see if something is torn. The doctor will do some range of motion testing. Theses test are the Lachman, Dynamic extension and the pivot jerk.
Physical therapy and kinesiology work in a close relationship to each other. Essentially one may think they are one in the same, however there are small differences between the two that provide different results when applied singularly. As a combined effort physical therapy and kinesiology work to heal the muscles and joints of the body, recreating movements perfectly as they were before injury or in some cases as closely as one can get to a perfect function. First one must understand where the lone is drawn between the two fields and how they balance each other to create desirable results in a patient.
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
The doctor might also conduct a physical examination to confirm the diagnosis. This is carried out by listening...
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.).
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
through the Eyes of a Participant Observer." Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. Vol. 20, No. 1, 19 Jan. 2012, p. 1. EBSCOhost. 2017 October 25.
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:
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.
Physical therapy is a fun and exciting healthcare profession that helps people. It is all about helping other people who have problems with their body, muscles, joints and other parts of their body. Patients includes accident victims and individuals with disabling conditions such as low back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy. Physical therapy will perform an evaluation of your problem or difficulty. They evaluate your problem by performing tests and measures to assess the problem. These tests includes muscle strength, joint motion, sensory and neurological, coordination, balance, observation, palpation, flexibility, postural screening, movement analysis, and special tests are designed for a particular problem. Next, they develop a treatment plan and goals and then manage the appropriate treatment to aid in recovery of a problem or dysfunction. Physical therapists are able to treat their patients by using many different treatments depending on the type of injury. Some of the treatments are electrical stimulation, hot and cold packs, infrared and ultrasound to reduce swelling or relieve pain. These treatments are used to help decrease pain and increase movement and function. Therapeutic exercises instructions will help restore strength, movement, balance, or skill as a guide towards full functional recovery. Physical therapy provides "hands on techniques" like massage or joint mobilizations skills to restore joint motion or increase soft tissue flexibility. They will focus on basic skills such as getting out of bed, walking safely with crutches or a walker, moving specific joints and muscles of the body. Physical therapists treatment includes patient education to teach them how to deal with a current problem and how to prevent the problem in the future. Such documentation is used to track the patient's progress, and identify areas requiring more or less attention. They encourage patients to use their own muscles. Their main goal is to improve how an individual functions at work and home.
Physical therapists are health care professionals that provide therapeutic services to their patients who have temporary or chronic physical conditions that were caused from injury or disease. Physical therapist also provided therapeutic services to patients after they have gone through surgery to help them gain back mobility and manage their pain. They can also work in preventive care by promoting healthy life styles and instructing individual patients or groups on preventing injury by using exercises that stretch and strengthen muscles. To help their patients try to recover they use massage techniques, wellness plans, and different types of equipment. When a physical therapist sees a patient for the very first time they must do an examination, evaluation, diagnosis, and then put together a physical intervention to start the rehabilitation process. They also work as a team with other health care professionals to help with their patients needs. Physical therapist can really make a difference in their patient’s lives by not only providing therapeutic services but also encouraging and motivating them so they can get better. The main goals of physical therapist are to help their patients retain or gain back lost physical mobility, eliminate or reduce pain, increase productivity and help promote a healthy life style so patients can have a better quality of life and become more independent.
"What Tests Might Be Ordered ." Penn Orthopaedics . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .