Musculoskeletal Key

Case 1: Acute joint disease A 42-year-old man presents to casualty with a painful and swollen right knee, which he attributes to an old football injury ‘flaring up again’. He…

Pathophysiology If there has been damage to the blood supply of a limb or severe damage to the soft tissues (with or without a fracture), then there may be swelling…

Causes If the load on a limb exceeds the strength of the bone, joint capsule or ligaments, then a fracture, dislocation, or joint sprain will occur. If the load is…

History If the patient cannot tell you what happened, then the paramedics should be able to advise on whether the burn was caused by heat, chemicals, electric shock or a…

Plastic surgery is the craft of moving skin and soft tissues to repair damage or to improve appearance and function. The skin provides a crucial function preventing excess fluid from…

General assessment Carry out a rapid general assessment of the whole patient to make sure that their airway, breathing and circulation are satisfactory (ABC, then D and E; see Chapter…

Introduction The population of the developed world is ageing rapidly. The problems of the elderly have come to dominate orthopaedic and trauma services. There are a number of special problems:…

Neurological disorders There are multitudes of neurological disorders that may present in an orthopaedic clinic. These can vary from polio, which has now almost disappeared from the developed world (but…

Definition Sports medicine is at one end of the spectrum of musculoskeletal disorders in that it relates to individuals who have very high expectations of their bodies, and who also…