Week 3 Flashcards
(59 cards)
neurological assessment
how the nerve is conducting
- observing
- muscle strength testing
- reflexes
neurodynamic assessment
- how the nerve is moving
Indications for Lower Limb Neurological Examination - LMN
- spinal pain extending beyond hip/buttock
- pins and needles and/or numbness in leg
- weakness/clumsiness in leg
Indications for Lower Limb Neurological Examination - UMN
○ Bilateral symptoms in a diffuse non-dermatomal distribution
- Disturbances of gait, balance, co-ordination
Indications for Lower Limb Neurological Examination: If cauda equina was involved
○ Disturbances of bladder/ bowel function
○ Saddle anaesthesia
§ Loss of sensation between the leg
○ Bilateral sciatica
Severe or progressive bilateral neurological deficit of the legs
Lower limb neurological testing
- Myotome testing (muscle power)
- Lower limb reflexes
- Dermatome testing (sensation)
- Tests for Cord/CNS
○ Babinski
Clonus
Mechanical function of the nervous system
- Move and withstand forces that are generated by daily movements
- Nerve must:
○ Slide in its container
○ Be compressible
○ Withstand tension
Continue conduction
- Nerve must:
Neuropathic pain
Repetitive mechanical forces:
○ Compression
○ Tensile
○ Friction
○ Vibration
And
- Ischemia (i.e compression)
- Inflammation (i.e. inflammatory mediators/inflammatory substances from adjacent tissues)
Indications for Neurodynamic assessment - Five testing guidelines (plus clinical signs and symptoms)
- Area of symptoms
- Quality of pain
- Behaviour
- Mechanism/past history
- Physical examination findings
Area of symptoms
- Neuro-anatomically logical
- Pain may be in lines or clumps
- At vulnerable sites
Quality of pain
- Burning, lancinating, shooting, cramping
- Superficial or deep depending on nerve/area involved
- Other symptoms may be present:
○ Sensory loss: paraesthesia (pins and needles), anaesthesia (numbness)
○ Dysesthesia (unpleasant sensations - crawling)
Hyperalgesia vs. allodynia
Behaviour
- Conventional (mechanical) or unconventional
- Provoked or spontaneous (“mind of its own”)
- Latency (e.g. whiplash)
Mechanism/past history
- Understand the causative event (sometimes straightforward, other times not)
- History – MSK injury or event related to onset of symptoms (traumatic or insidious).
- Differentiate from non-MSK (i.e. Red flags, diabetes, tumour, post herpetic infections)
Physical examination findings
- Antalgic postures (tension relieving positions – protective to reduce mechanical load on sensitised nerve tissue by shortening anatomical distance nerve trunk travels) e.g. standing with hip/knee flexed
- Active and passive movements, i.e. symptoms with movements that:
○ Move and/or
○ Elongate and/or
○ Compress the NS in that body part
Palpation If - mechanosensitivity is present then patient may report array of symptoms to nerve palpation (tingling, numbness, dull ache) and you may notice protective response.
- Active and passive movements, i.e. symptoms with movements that:
Contraindications
- acute nerve root injury
- Recent onset of neurological signs or worsening neurological signs
- Cord and Cauda equina symptoms (medical referral required)
○ Bilateral symptoms/difficult/loss of coordination with gait
○ Numbness/loss of sensation in saddle area (perineum)
○ Bladder retention. - Upper motor neuron signs (medical referral required)
○ Babinski and clonus - Tethered cord syndrome (Tethered peripheral nerves)
- Severe pain in which examination too intrusive and provoke symptoms unnecessarily
- Severe headache
- Dizziness or nausea
- Presence of obvious serious pathology e.g. Cancer
- Cord and Cauda equina symptoms (medical referral required)
Joint opening and closing:
- Closing mechanisms –increase pressure on neural structures by way of reducing the space around it. e.g. Spinal ext/LF closes IV foramen
- Opening mechanisms – relieve pressure on a neural structure by way of increasing the space around it.
Sensitising movements
○ increase forces in the neural structures in addition to movements normally used in the test.
e.g. Contralateral LF of the spine, hip IR and/or adduction
Differentiating movements
○ Differentiation between neural and non-neural (MSK) structures.
○ E.g. Use a movement remote from the area of symptoms that moves the nervous system but not the musculoskeletal system
○ Pain in lateral ankle- differentiation of peroneal nerve pain from ligament/muscle-add passive neck flexion
A positive response - neurodynamic test
- reproduction of patients symptoms
- altered sensation through range
- decrease range of motion
- symptoms can be altered by body part remote from local area or increased response with addition of sensitising manoeuvres
modifiable risk factors for acute injuries
- Previous loading history & subsequent tissue adaptation
- Presence & degree of underlying microscopic tissue damage
- History of previous acute injury and extent of mechanical strength recovery
non-modifiable risk factors for acute injuries
- Unpredictable nature of some sports & work environments (e.g. contact sport)
- Rules (e.g. high-tackles → rule changes)
- ‘Open’ environment (e.g. outdoor sports/work & weather conditions)
- Individual anatomy
- Previous injury – preventable?
intervention options
- advice and education
- therapeutic exercise
- manual therapy
- physical devices
- electrophysical agents
acute phase
0-72 hours
Treatment aims:
- Minimise extent of initial damage
- Reduce associated pain & inflammation
- Promote healing of damaged tissue while
- Maintaining flexibility, strength, proprioception in unaffected areas and maintain overall fitness
- P.O.L.I.C.E
P.O.L.I.C.E
protection, optimal loading, ice, compression, elevation