The Musculoskeletal System

Abstract

Many of the injuries seen in the office setting are acute in nature. Generally, they are the common sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations of various joints and soft tissues. Most are injuries of movement, and so the dynamics of the injury (biomechanics) become an important part of the history-taking. Most common acute injuries can be diagnosed prior to even beginning the physical examination. If a patient, while grabbing at something, externally rotated and abducted his arm, resulting in a painful Shoulder injury, a reasonable assumption that an anterior glenohumeral dislocation occurred is in order. An adequate working knowledge of functional human anatomy is imperative to the successful diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries. Below are listed major parts of the subjective and objective assessment of any musculoskeletal injury.