12/16/15 Progress Report documented that the patient has left foot pain, which is described as stabbing, aching pain, which shoots up the leg with excessive walking and standing. The patient benefited greatly from a sympathetic nerve block. She was able walk and sensitivity of the foot was restored. The pain is rated 3/10-scale level with medications. There are no side effects, no aberrant behavior to the meds. The med provide good pain relief. She is currently taking Oxycodone, Norco and Gabapentin. The musculoskeletal exam revealed joint pain, swelling, muscle cramps, muscle weakness and stiffness. Treatment plan included Sympathetic nerve block for RDS. Follow-up is in 1 month.…
I chose the rotator cuff because it is a very important set of muscles that lets us move our shoulders and do many day to day things. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that attach to the bones of the shoulder joint, which allows the shoulder to move and also keep it stable. The four muscles that make up the rotator cuff are the Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and the Subscapularis. These hold the head of the humerus into the scalpula. Injuries to the rotator cuff are very common.…
However, some cases of PDAP may share some features with TN. If PDAP pain is constant without exacerbation, trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis is automatically excluded. In PDAP cases characterized by constant pain with exacerbations, the clinician may be in doubt with a trigeminal neuralgia type II diagnosis (Burchiel classification) (60). Durham et al., from qualitative data derived from PDAP patients interviews (case-series, level of evidence 4), suggest that the clinician should not rely on pain descriptors, as PDAP pain exacerbations may be described as stabbing or electric-like by some patients. Authors highlights two key differences between PDAP and TN that can be helpful in such cases. First, TN attacks usually follow an anatomical line that correspond to the direction of a trigeminal nerve branch, while PDAP pain exacerbations tend to be localized in one spot. Second, TN attacks duration are usually much shorter in duration…
Acute Sciatica – sciatic nerve pain occurs due to pressure placed on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is characterized by pain that starts in the lower back and radiates through the buttock and to one or both lower extremities (LE). Sciatica is also known to cause a feeling of numbness or weakness to the one or both LE (Casazza, 2012).…
Spinal muscular atrophy [SMA] is a disorder in which, you have a loss of motor neurons. Your muscle symmetry is often off. In addition, there is muscle weakness in your spinal cord. This occurs in a hard time sitting up and holding your head up on your own. It is just like when you are a newborn and you need a pillow to sit on the couch. A few major causes of SMA are loss of motor neuron cells or nerve cell. This mutation leads to a deficiency of motor neuron cells or nerve cells. The disorder SMA is tied to the gene "SMN1" and tied to chromosome 5. A few symptoms of this disorder are- difficulty breathing lack of oxygen, difficulty eating, floppy posture, small amount of movement, and all these symptoms will gradually get worse over time. All these symptoms are at about a mild level in the beginning.…
Every year thousands of pitchers hear some of the most dreaded words possible, “You need Tommy John Surgery.” Tommy John Surgery affects many baseball players every year and threatens a lot of athlete’s careers. Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) damage can be common in both professional and college pitchers, as well as the occasional high school athlete. A damaged UCL often requires surgery, and an exceptionally long road to recovery. While it may put a career on hold, the ultimate goal is to allow a pitcher to continue his career for a long time after. Tommy John Surgery can be a frightening diagnosis, however, understanding what Tommy John Surgery is, what the procedure is like, the recovery process after surgery, and how to avoid arm injuries…
These plexi help enhance and coordinate many functions such as muscle contraction, maintenance of body coordination and control, reaction to sensation etc. The sacral plexus comprises of spinal levels from L4-S4 and innervates the pelvis, genitals, thighs, buttocks, calves and feet. The sacral plexus lies in the back of the pelvis, between the piriformis muscle and the pelvis fascia and nerves coming from this plexus converge toward the lower part of the greater sciatic foramen and unite to form a flattened band, which continues primarily as the sciatic nerve. All nerves that root from the plexus either have anterior or posterior divisions and the posterior division has less nerves than the anterior. The posterior division contains the superior gluteal nerve (L4-S1), inferior gluteal nerve (L5-S2) and the nerve to piriformis (S1, S2). The anterior division contains the nerve to quadratus femoris (L4-S1), the nerve to obturator internus ( L5-S2), the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve ( S1-S3), Pudendal (S2-S4) and Coccygeal (S5-Co1). The sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body, is a combination of two nerves: the tibial nerve and the common fibular nerve. The tibial nerve (L4-S3), comes from the anterior division and branches off into the medial and lateral plantar nerves and the common fibular nerve (L4-S2), comes from the posterior division of the plexus and branches off into the superficial and deep nerves. These come together to make the sacral…
Foot Conditions That Your Podiatrist Can Treat To Help With Foot, Hip, And Back Pain…
When I first read about Carla’s presentation into the clinic, it sounded like it was piriformis syndrome. Although rarely recognized, piriformis syndrome appears to be a common cause of buttock and leg pain as a result of injury to the piriformis muscle. Symptoms are aggravated by prolonged hip flexion, adduction, and internal rotation, in the absence of low back or hip findings (Barton, 1991). Tonley et al. (2010) stated piriformis syndrome often evolves as intermittent and inconsistent and can present symptoms off and on throughout prolonged periods of time. Patients often report pain is insidious and deny any trauma that contributed to current symptoms. Patients also often state prolonged history of deep right buttock pain that radiates to the posterior thigh when piriformis syndrome is present (Tonley et al., 2010).…
Spina bifida, meaning, “split spine,” is one of the most common birth defects. It is present in about 1 in every 1000 births. This birth defect is part of a group called neural tube defects. The neural tube is a hollow structure where the brain and spinal cord form. This happens at the end of the first month of pregnancy when the spinal cord is developing. As a result, the spinal cord and nerves become damaged. This defect causes an opening in the back that can be visible or hidden under the skin.…
As one gets older there are several things that happen to the musculoskeletal system. For some, aging brings about the slowing of things. As this comes about we are more inclined to take short cuts, fewer walks, and less time at the gym. As we start to avoid favorable activities, our muscles grow weak and shrink in size. The lack of physical activity not only takes its toll on our muscles, but to our bones as well. Wolff’s law states that the bone density changes in response to the changes in the functional forces on the bone. In mature bones, the bone elements place or displace themselves, and decrease or increase their mass, in response the mechanical demands imposed on them…
The diameter, number of axons in the sciatic nerve, speed of transmission and degree of myelination can all have an effect on the sciatic nerve and therefore the peak contractile force of B. Marinus. The diameter of the axon in the sciatic nerve would impact how fast the action potential is conceived down the axon to the synaptic cleft and muscle (Firmin, L. 2014). If one of the toads had a smaller axon diameter it would allow for resistance to movement to occur due to friction. The diameter of the axon in the sciatic nerve would therefore cause the peak contractile force to be reached at different strengths and time.…
Disorders of the spine, such as degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, facet arthritis, and vertebral fracture, etc. often result in a compromised spinal cord or nerve roots. This will be evaluated based on evidence of pain, motor loss, muscle weakness and atrophy, and reflex or sensory loss, caused by nerve root compression. Radiological imaging may also be employed to help determine cause of symptoms. In some cases, biopsy or surgery may be…
Imagine being a caretaker for an elderly family member. It is a difficult but rewarding role keeping them comfortable and with other loved ones in their final years. Now, add in a crippling chronic mind-altering pain that loved ones must face. It makes them cantankerous and melancholy, no current pain management techniques work. To smoke, or not to smoke? This is a question that many people in pain must ask themselves. With the fairly recent legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in many different states, a new alternative pain relief is in the hands of the many. With years of propaganda and fear tactics used to keep marijuana illegal, finding extensive, long term, non-biased research studies on the effectiveness of tetrahydrocannabinol,…
Sampson, E. Kitchen, G. (2012) North west dementa Centre. Available at: http://www.pssru.ac.uk/pdf/MCpdfs/Pain_factsheet.pdf . Accessed on 25th April 2012.…