Table 164.1Summary of Information Seen on Musculoskeletal Examination

Skin
 Color change
 Consistency
 Sweating or coldness
 Eruptions
 Ulcerations
Heat
Soft tissue swelling
 Synovial thickening
 Periarticular swelling
 Nodules
 Effusion
Wasting (atrophy, dystrophy, spasm, contracture)
Tenderness to palpation and pain on motion
Crepitation
Deformity
 Abnormal angulation
 Subluxation
Limitation of motion
Stability
Abnormalities of trunk and spine
 Scoliosis
 Kyphosis
 Limitation of motion
  Flexion (mostly easily documented by measuring lengthening)
  Lateral flexion
  Rotation
Ambulation
 Ability to ambulate with or without aids
 Gait

From: Chapter 164, The Musculoskeletal Examination

Cover of Clinical Methods
Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition.
Walker HK, Hall WD, Hurst JW, editors.
Boston: Butterworths; 1990.
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.

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