SCS Patient Assessment & Evaluation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A soccer player presents with groin pain that increases with resisted hip adduction. Which diagnostic test best assesses for an adductor strain?
- Squeeze test (Correct answer)
- FABER test
- Thomas test
- Ober test
Correct answer: Squeeze test
The squeeze test (resisted hip adduction between examiner's fists) elicits pain in adductor strains and athletic pubalgia.
Question 2: Which outcome measure is most appropriate for tracking functional recovery after a lower extremity injury in an athlete returning to sport?
- Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) (Correct answer)
- Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
- Oswestry Disability Index
- SF-36
Correct answer: Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS)
The LEFS is a validated, sport-relevant tool specifically designed to measure functional limitations in lower extremity conditions.
Question 3: An overhead athlete has a positive O'Brien active compression test. What condition does this most suggest?
- Superior labral tear (SLAP lesion) (Correct answer)
- Supraspinatus tendinopathy
- Bicipital tendinitis
- AC joint pathology
Correct answer: Superior labral tear (SLAP lesion)
O'Brien's test (pain with resisted forward flexion in internal rotation, relieved with external rotation) has the highest sensitivity for SLAP lesions, though AC joint pathology can also be positive.
Question 4: When documenting a hamstring strain grade, a Grade II injury is characterized by:
- Partial tear with significant strength loss but intact muscle continuity (Correct answer)
- Complete rupture with palpable defect
- Mild overstretching with no fiber disruption
- Avulsion from the ischial tuberosity
Correct answer: Partial tear with significant strength loss but intact muscle continuity
Grade II muscle strains involve partial tearing of muscle fibers with moderate pain, swelling, strength loss, but maintained structural continuity.
Question 5: An SCS candidate is evaluating hip impingement in a collegiate swimmer. Which provocative test is most specific for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI)?
- FADIR test (flexion, adduction, internal rotation) (Correct answer)
- FABER test
- Trendelenburg test
- Ober test
Correct answer: FADIR test (flexion, adduction, internal rotation)
The FADIR test compresses the anterosuperior labrum and is the most sensitive provocative test for FAI, particularly cam-type impingement.
Question 6: A wrestler sustains a head injury. Which symptom cluster indicates the highest risk requiring immediate removal from play per SCAT5 protocols?
- Loss of consciousness, amnesia, and deteriorating neurologic status (Correct answer)
- Headache, nausea, and dizziness without loss of consciousness
- Blurred vision and fogginess with normal orientation
- Balance difficulty with intact memory and orientation
Correct answer: Loss of consciousness, amnesia, and deteriorating neurologic status
Loss of consciousness, amnesia, and worsening neurologic signs constitute red flags mandating immediate removal and emergency evaluation.
Question 7: During a preparticipation physical examination, which cardiac finding requires immediate cardiology referral before sports clearance?
- Harsh systolic murmur that increases with Valsalva maneuver (Correct answer)
- Soft flow murmur that decreases with Valsalva maneuver
- Physiologic splitting of S2
- Sinus bradycardia with a resting heart rate of 48 bpm
Correct answer: Harsh systolic murmur that increases with Valsalva maneuver
A murmur that increases with Valsalva (reduced preload) is characteristic of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a leading cause of sudden cardiac death.
SCS Patient Assessment & Evaluation 3
A soccer player presents with groin pain that increases with resisted hip adduction.
Which diagnostic test best assesses for an adductor strain?