Orthopedic Assessment & Diagnosis Flashcards

A patient presents with foot pain and a positive Windlass test (great toe passive extension reproducing plantar heel pain). This is diagnostic of:

Answer: Plantar fasciitis

The Windlass test tightens the plantar fascia via the windlass mechanism; reproduction of heel pain confirms plantar fasciitis.

A clinician tests thoracic outlet syndrome by performing a 3-minute elevated arm stress test (EAST/Roos test). A positive test reproduces:

Answer: Upper extremity heaviness, pain, and paresthesia bilaterally compared to unaffected side

EAST reproduces neurovascular symptoms (heaviness, paresthesia) in the affected upper extremity within 3 minutes, indicating thoracic outlet compression.

Which myotome is BEST assessed by testing resisted ankle dorsiflexion?

Answer: L4

Ankle dorsiflexion is primarily innervated by the deep peroneal nerve from the L4 nerve root, making it the key myotome test for L4 integrity.

During AC joint assessment, a positive cross-body adduction test suggests pathology at:

Answer: Acromioclavicular joint

Cross-body adduction compresses the AC joint, and reproduction of AC joint pain confirms AC joint pathology.

A patient with anterior knee pain has a positive Clarke's test and peripatellar crepitus. The MOST likely diagnosis is:

Answer: Patellofemoral pain syndrome

Clarke's test (patellar compression during quadriceps contraction) reproduces pain from patellofemoral cartilage compression in patellofemoral pain syndrome.

An upper limb neurodynamic test (ULNT1) is performed with shoulder abduction, wrist/finger extension, forearm supination, elbow extension, and contralateral cervical lateral flexion. This sequence primarily sensitizes:

Answer: Median nerve

ULNT1 (median nerve bias) uses wrist extension and forearm supination to maximally load the median nerve along its anatomical course.

Which test is used to differentiate true vs. apparent leg length discrepancy by comparing supine to long-sitting measurements?

Answer: Supine-to-sit test

The supine-to-sit test detects apparent leg length discrepancy caused by pelvic obliquity; reversal of limb length on position change indicates sacroiliac joint dysfunction.