APPROACH TO MUSCULOSKELETAL EXAMINATION

Musculoskeletal Examinations

A common scheme shared by most of the musculoskeletal examination or the examination of joint involves the following steps:

    1. Look - all around the joint (s)
    2. Feel - temperature, joint line, bony attachments, ligaments / muscles / nerves / vessels crossing the joint
    3. Move - both active and passive movements in the same order
    4. Special Tests - relevant to the particular joint

Common Rules for Joint Examination:

  • Ideally should start from the unaffected joint
  • Ideally examination should include a joint above and a joint below on the affected side, and the same joint on the unaffected side
  • Always warn the patient before ‘FEEL’ part of the examination

 

VARIATION NOTE: In case of the distal joints of the upper limb and the lower limb (wrist & ankle respectively), above scheme does not suffice the examination. To fully examine the wrist and ankle joint one must include Neurovascular assessment as well, hence to complete the examination you must do LOOK, FEEL, MOVE + NEUROVASCULAR examination of the wrist and the ankle where applicable.

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