UMEM Educational Pearls - Orthopedics

Plica Syndrome

-A painful impairment of knee function resulting from thickened and inflamed synovial folds

Plicae are embryologic remnant inward folds of the synovial lining present in most knees

Most plica are asymptomatic

A pathological synovial plica can become inelastic, thickened and fibrotic. It may bowstring across the femoral trochlea at 70 to 100 degrees of knee flexion

Can be a cause of anterior knee pain/mechanical Sxs

Medial patellar plica most commonly involved

Hx: Snapping sensation, pain w/ sitting or repetitive activity

Anterior knee pain, clicking, clunking, and a popping sensation on knee loading activity such as squatting/stairs or with prolonged sitting

Many present with history of blunt trauma to the anterior knee

PE: A taut band of tissue that reproduces concordant pain with palpation

Tenderness in the medial parapatellar region

Painful, palpable medial parapatellar cord

-This can be rolled and popped beneath the examiners finger

The knee may be tender to the touch, swollen, and stiff 

Can be difficult to distinguish from other intra-articular conditions such as meniscal tears, articular cartilage injuries, or osteochondral lesions,

The examiner can then palpate for the plica by rolling one finger over the plica fold, which is located around the joint lines in anterior knee compartment

https://www.ortho.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/medial-plica-syndrome-31-e1478966479644.jpg

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Bone stress injury (BSI) in Adolescents

A BSI occurs along a pathology continuum that begins with a stress reaction and may progress all the way to a stress fracture.

Difficult to diagnose clinically.

Identifying risk factors as part of the history is very important.

Common sites for BSI are most frequently in the lower extremity and include the tibia, fibula, tarsals and metatarsals, calcaneus, and femur.

When considering this in an ED setting, image the involved area and if there is no fracture, advise discontinuing the activity until time of PCP/sports medicine follow up. For those with rest pain, pain with minimal weight bearing or in whom a fracture was suspected but not present, consider providing a walking boot or crutches.

BSIs occur more frequently in young athletes than in adults.         

          Almost 50% of BSIs occur in those younger than 20 years of age

Primary care and sports medicine providers are seeing more of these patients due to many factors.

Year-round training, sports specialization at younger ages and increase in training intensity/duration contribute to the increase incidence in adolescents.

Not surprisingly, participation in organized sports as an adolescent is a known risk factor.

Just as a change in sporting level from high school to college is a known risk factor for BSI, young “gifted” athletes who are promoted to competing with the varsity team may be at similar risk.

Shin pain lasting more than 4 weeks may represent a unique subset of MSK pain complaints increasing risk of BSI.

A prior history of BSI is a strong predictor of future BSI.

Inquire about night pain, pain with ambulation, and pain affecting performance.

Athletes with BSIs have a significantly lower BMI than controls (<21.0 kg/m2).

Athletes with BSIs sleep significantly less than controls.

Athletes with BSIs have significantly lower dairy intake than controls.

Inquire about components of the female athlete triad (low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction and low bone mineral density)

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Long head of biceps tendon (LHBT) Testing

Overhead activities can cause anterior shoulder pain due to LHBT instability. A review of 3 physical exam maneuvers for bedside evaluation.

Speed test

Shoulder at 90° of flexion with arm fully supinated and elbow extended

Patient attempts to fwd. elevate arm against a downward force

Positive test is pain localized to bicipital groove.

Sensitivity 54% and specificity 81% for biceps pathology

https://youtu.be/N00gA4Pvsbw

Yergason test

Elbow at 90° of flexion with arm fully pronated and held against thoracic wall. Examiner grips patient’s hand and resists attempts at supination.

Positive test is pain localized to bicipital groove or LHBT subluxation.

Sensitivity 41% and specificity 79% for biceps pathology

https://youtu.be/_ot2S75mZ3o

Upper Cut test

Shoulder neutral with Elbow at 90° of flexion, arm fully supinated and hand in a fist. Patient moves hand toward chin in an uppercut motion like a boxer. Examiner places hand over patient’s fist and resists upward movement.

Positive test is pain localized to bicipital groove or LHBT subluxation.

Sensitivity 73%, specificity 78%, +LR 3.38 for biceps pathology

https://youtu.be/EE-WhlWFZvk

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Children are prone to inflammation and infection of the intervertebral discs

-Mean age 3-5years at presentation.

Lumbar region frequently involved

Although disc biopsy is not necessary for diagnosis, as many as 60% of biopsied discs grow bacteria

-Usually Staphylococcus aureus.

Untreated - may spontaneously resolve or progress to vertebral osteomyelitis or abscess

Chief complaint: Back pain and irritability, often associated with a limp or refusal to crawl or walk.

Fever is absent or low grade. 

Physical examination findings are nonspecific and may include a tendency to lie still and percussion tenderness over the involved spine.

Blood culture is generally sterile,

WBC count can be normal early in the disease course

However, the ESR is elevated in >90% of patients.

Plain radiographs are normal at the start of the illness, and generally take 2-3 weeks to demonstrate narrowing of the intervertebral space.

Therefore imaging study of choice is MRI.

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Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) refers to inflammation of gray and white matter in one or more adjacent spinal cord segments leading to acute/subacute dysfunction of all cord functions (i.e., motor, sensory, and autonomic).

There is a bimodal peak between ages 10-19 years and ages 30-39 years.

Most cases are idiopathic

Some patients may have had a preceding viral infection or autoimmune disorder.

The thoracic cord is most commonly involved.

Onset is characterized by acute/subacute development of neurologic signs and symptoms consistent with motor weakness, sensory changes or autonomic dysfunction.

Pain in the head, neck, and/or back may occur.

Motor and sensory changes occur below the level of the lesion and are more likely to be bilateral.

Motor symptoms include a rapidly progressing paraparesis.

Autonomic dysfunction may include urinary urgency or difficulty voiding, bowel or bladder incontinence, tenesmus, constipation, and sexual dysfunction.

Despite its low incidence, consider in a patient presents with a classic constellation of symptoms,

Rapid identification, and early initiation of treatment predicts the best outcomes

Diagnosis: whole spine MRI with and without gadolinium

Management: goals include reducing cord inflammation (IV glucocorticoids), alleviating symptoms (pain management, bladder decompression), and treating underlying causes (e.g., infections, autoimmune) as appropriate.

Bone tumors can present as MSK pain!

Pain may be activity related initially (can lead to misdiagnosis)

Over time will progress to rest pain and night pain

1) Primary osteosarcoma - most common primary malignant bone tumor

Adolescents, male > female

70% occur about the knee (also in hip/pelvis and upper arm)

pain, swelling, tenderness to palpation

Consider in the presentation of non traumatic knee pain!

2) Ewing's sarcoma

Peak incidence ages 10-20, male > female

pain, swelling, tendernes to palpation

Elevated temps and ESR

Consider in the differential of osteomyelitis!!

Variable location - lusually the extremities but also pelvis, scapula, ribs

Remember to evaluate for any rotational deformity when evaluating patients with a phalanx fracture.

The easiest way to do this is to have the patient flex all their fingers. They should all point to the scaphoid. If a finger deviates or overlaps another finger there is a rotational deformity.  One should also make sure that all the nailbeds align.

This video shows how to evaluate for rotation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhp25UVn7RQ

Even if the finger is reduced otherwise, persistent rotational deformities should be referred to a hand surgeon for consideration of corrective surgery.

The TACO method (tarp assisted cooling with oscillation)

Cold water immersion (CWI) remains the standard for cooling in exercise induced hyperthermia

A low cost alternative is modified cold water immersion.

Sometimes, monetary reasons and location venue prevent the feasibility of CWI

Benefits: fast, cheap, portable

Portable – Allows for on site location at area of collapse

Cheap: Equipment required – 3 providers, 1 tarp, 20 gallons of water and 10 gallons of ice

Fast: Average time to set up – 3.4 minutes

The TACO method – fast effective reduction in core temperatures

              May be up to 75% as effective as CWI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxjP0-_RIdc

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Laboratory testing for Spinal Epidural Abscess

CBC

The CBC is poorly sensitive/specific

The WBC count may be nml or elevated

Left shift and bandemia may or may not be present

ESR and CRP

Sensitive but not specific

Elevated in >80% with vertebral osteomyelitis.

• Sensitive for spinal infection, but not extremely specific.

• ESR
  • ESR was elevated in 94-100% of patients with SEA vs. only 33% of non-SEA patients
• CRP
  • Less useful for acute diagnosis since CRP levels rise faster and return to baseline faster than ESR
    • Elevated CRP seen in 87% of patients with SEA as well as in 50% of patients with spine pain not due to a SEA
  • Better used as a marker of response to treatment.

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Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES)

A recent pearl discussed CES. This is a very challenging diagnosis to make, especially on initial presentation

The 5 “classic” characteristic features are

•  Bilateral radiculopathy
• Saddle anesthesia
• Altered bladder function
• Loss of anal tone
• Sexual dysfunction

Not all symptoms will be present in a given patient and there is no sign/symptom combination that either reliably diagnoses or excludes CES.

To illustrate how difficult this diagnosis is to make, a study looked at the predictive abilities of Neurosurgical residents.

Positive MRI for CES was accurately predicted by senior neurosurgical residents in approximately 50% of patients suspected of CES based on history and physical findings. As clinical certainty only becomes apparent with the classic symptoms (which are generally late findings) waiting to initiate MRI will delay decompressive surgery and can lead to worsened functional outcomes. This leads to increased MRI demand with more negative MRIs. Not surprisingly, only ~20% of MRI scans for suspected CES are positive.

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In patients with lower back pain, there is good evidence that muscle relaxants reduce pain as compared to placebo and that different types are equally effective. However, the high incidence of significant side effects such as dizziness and sedation limits their use. Muscle relaxants may be beneficial in an every bedtime capacity thereby limiting side effects.

If cyclobenzaprine is used during daytime hours, a lower dose schedule may work as well as a higher dose with somewhat less somnolence (5 mg three times a day vs 10 mg three times a day. In general, muscle relaxants should only be used when patients cannot tolerate NSAIDs but can tolerate the side effect profile.

We commonly add muscle relaxants to NSAIDs hoping for a larger analgesic effect. However, combination therapy does not appear to be better than monotherapy. 

Adding cyclobenzaprine to high-dose ibuprofen does not seem to provide additional pain relief in the first 48 hours in ED patients with acute myofascial strain. Among an ED population with acute non radicular low back pain, a randomized trial found that adding cyclobenzaprine/other muscle relaxants to Naproxen did not improve functional outcomes or pain at one week or 3 months compared to naproxen alone.

Take home: Consider the limited usefulness use of muscle relaxants in ED patients with back pain

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Spurling’s maneuver and modified Spurling’s maneuver aka neck compression test.

This maneuver is highly specific for the presence of cervical root compression

Can be used to reproduce radicular pain/symptoms.

Perform this maneuver with caution as it should not be performed in patients who have potential cervical spine instability.

Keeping the patient’s head in a neutral position pressing down on the top of the head. If this fails to reproduce the patient's pain, the test is repeated with the head extended, rotated and tilted to the affected side (the modified Spurling’s maneuver).

Reproduction of symptoms (limb pain or paresthesias) beyond the shoulder is considered positive. Neck pain alone is nonspecific and constitutes a negative test.

The test has a high specificity (0.89 to 1.00) but low sensitivity (0.38 to 0.97).

            Meaning a positive test is helpful but a negative test does not rule out radicular pain.

This test should be used in conjunction with a thorough history and physical examination (strength, sensation and reflex testing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17QWqbXjSpc

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When caring for a patient with a laceration we often do lcoal infiltration prior to suturing but remember the benefits of regional nerve blocks

Benefits of Regional Nerve Blocks

• Less Painful
• Prevents distortion of the wound which can help with cosmetic closure
• Allows for a greater area to be anesthesized with less anesthetic use (prevents toxic levels)
• Can allow for longer anesthetic time

Quick reminder of properities of common anesthetic

Final reminder:  There is no evidence that epinephrine causes necrosis and it can be used safely in digital blocks. Duration of action is max 90 minutes. Even individuals that have injected themselves with EpiPens into their hands have not had any long term sequelue or necrosis seen. Vast majority required no treatment at all.

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Epidemiology of Alpine Skiing Injuries

Mean age of injury 30.3 (range 24 to 35.4 years)

Populations at greatest risk are children and adolescents and possibly adults over 50 (increased risk of tibial plateau fractures)

Sex: Males> females

              Knee injuries, esp to ACL, are higher among females

              Fractures greater in males

Injury location greatest at lower extremity (primarily to knee)

              Primarily sprains to MCL and ACL (increasing incidence)

14% occur to upper extremity and primarily involve the thumb and shoulder

              Skiers thumb – FOOSH with thumb Abducted gripping pole

              Pole is implicated as this injury is rare among snowboarders

The pole acts as a lever to amplify the forced Abduction of the thumb as the outstretched hand hits the ground.

Let go before you hit the ground!!

13% occur to head and neck

The number of all type injuries has decreased over time with advances in equipment and helmet use

Proportion of skiers wearing a helmet exceeds 80%        

However, the number of traumatic fatalities has remained constant

              Accidents involving fatalities exceed the protective capacity of helmets

              Helmets likely decrease risk of mild and moderate head injury

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Retrospective chart review at a headache clinic seeing adolescent concussion patients

70.1% met criteria for probable medication-overuse headache

Once culprit over the counter medications (NSAIDs, acetaminophen) were discontinued,

68.5% of patients reported return to their preinjury headache status

Take home:  Excessive use of OTC analgesics post concussion may contribute to chronic post-traumatic headaches

If you suspect medication overuse, consider analgesic detoxification

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In which age groups should children with Sport Related Concussion be managed differently from adults?

• Not adequately addressed in literature.
• Consider 5-12 years old vs 13 and over for child vs. adult testing

Are there targeted subgroups who would benefit from closer outpatient and specialty follow-up?

Predictors of Prolonged Recovery in Children
 

• Female sex
• physician diagnosis of migraine
• Prior concussion with symptoms lasting longer than 1 weeks
• Multiple concussions
• ADHD/LD/Mood disorders
• Acute headache
• Age 13 or older
  • Teenage and high school years represents the greatest age period for prolonged recovery
• Prior
• Dizziness
• Sensitivity to noise
• Fatigue
• Answering questions slowly
• 4 or more errors on BESS testing

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Concussion Management in Children

What are the predictors of prolonged recovery of concussion in children?

Female sex, age greater than 13, prior physician diagnosis of migraine, prior concussion with symptoms lasting longer than 1 week, history of multiple concussions, headache, sensitivity to noise, dizziness, fatigue, answering questions slowly and four or more errors on tandem stance testing.

Age:  As compared to younger children, adolescents have a greater number of and more severe postconcussive symptoms. They take longer to recover and return to school and sport.

Subjects: Math tends to pose greater problems followed by reading/language, arts, sciences and social studies.

Computer testing:  The widespread use of computer neuropsychological testing is not recommended in children and adolescents. This is due to issues with reliability over time and insufficient evidence of both diagnostic and prognostic value. When used, reference to normative data should be done with caution. Testing should also NOT be used in isolation in concussion diagnosis and management.

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You have successfully diagnosed a concussion, explained everything to the parents, closed the encounter, reached for the doorknob and….

“What about school?”

An athlete should not return to play until they have successfully returned to school

Several studies have demonstrated that intense cognitive stimulation and intense intellectual stimulation result in worsening symptoms

                -school work, TV, videogames, texting

Attempt to limit cognitive activity to the point where it begins to reproduce or worsen symptoms!

Step 1: 24 to 48 hours of rest

Step 2: Daily at home activities that do not increase symptoms. Starting with 5 – 10 minutes and gradually build up to a goal of tolerating 30 minutes of cognitive activity without worsening symptoms.

                Home work, reading assignments, other cognitive activities

Step 3: Attempt Return to school (will not be completely symptoms free!) with either part time, partial days, or with extended breaks. Goal of tolerating an entire school day without symptoms.

Most students recover fully within 4 weeks and adjustments can then be discontinued. Others with ongoing symptoms may require ongoing academic modifications (extra time for tests, papers, etc).

Suggested examples of adjustments:  Shortened days, 15 minute break for every 30 minutes of instruction, providing class notes, tutoring, decreasing course expectations, decreasing exposure to classes which exacerbate symptoms, no computer work, untimed tests and quizzes, lunch in a quiet place.

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25yo baseball pitcher presents with medial elbow pain. He felt a painful “pop” and could not continue to throw (due to loss of speed and control). Mild paresethesias in 4^th and 5^th digits.

What physical examination maneuvers can you do at the bedside to assist in the diagnosis?

               Exam opposite elbow first to establish baseline and to assist patient relaxation and understanding.

Flexing elbow to 20 to 30 degrees unlocks the olecranon

1. Valgus stress test – flex elbow with forearm/hand supinated. Apply valgus stress test and note for laxity/firm endpoint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXQxH0UTn-8

2. Milking maneuver – Here the valgus stress is created by pulling on the patient’s thumb with the forearm supinated and elbow flexed to 90°. Note instability, pain, or apprehension.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sa9goJ4afs

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwigwaZxBXE

3. Moving valgus stress test – Similar to the milking maneuver, the valgus stress test is applied while the elbow is ranged through full flexion and extension. Note instability, pain, or apprehension in mid range (between 70 and 120 degrees)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnkkHpG3Dqg

Froment’s Sign

Tests for motor weakness of the Ulnar nerve

Patient asked to hold piece of paper in both hands, grasping with the thumb and radial side of index finger of both hands

Examiner then pulls on the paper

Test is positive if patient flexes the thumb IP join in an attempt to hold onto paper

https://handlab.com/resources/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/June-2013-No25.jpg