Patient Assessment Flashcards

What does the 'mirror image' concept in CBP mean in the context of patient assessment?

Answer: Placing the patient in the posture opposite to their measured displacement

Mirror image care puts the patient into the opposite of their measured postural displacement, so the assessment has to identify each displacement precisely.

In CBP, what are 'coupled' postural patterns?

Answer: Displacements that happen together, such as lateral head translation with lateral flexion of the cervical spine

Coupled patterns are displacements that tend to occur together, and assessment must identify them so care addresses the full pattern.

Which outcome measure is most appropriate for tracking low back–related disability in a CBP lumbar patient?

Answer: Oswestry Disability Index

The Oswestry Disability Index is a validated, widely used questionnaire for low back pain–related disability.

In CBP, the Risser–Ferguson method is mainly used to measure what?

Answer: Coronal-plane (scoliotic) curvature on AP films

Risser–Ferguson measures frontal-plane curves on AP radiographs and is an alternative to the Cobb method.

A CBP posture exam shows the pelvis translated to the right relative to the feet. How is this recorded?

Answer: Pelvis +Tx

A right lateral shift along the x-axis is recorded as positive translation, +Tx.

Why is repeatability (reliability) of posture and radiographic measurements important in CBP assessment?

Answer: It makes sure measured changes reflect real change rather than measurement error

Reliable measurements let the clinician tell real structural change apart from examiner or positioning error.

A patient reports gait disturbance, hand clumsiness, and has a positive Hoffmann's sign. What does this suggest during assessment?

Answer: Possible cervical myelopathy that needs further evaluation

Upper motor neuron signs such as a positive Hoffmann's sign, together with gait and hand dysfunction, point to cervical cord compression.