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Assignment: Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain Essay

Assignment: Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain Essay

Assignment: Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain Essay

HPI: This is the symptom analysis section of your note. Thorough documentation in this section is essential for patient care, coding, and billing analysis. Paint a picture of what is wrong with the patient. Use LOCATES Mnemonic to complete your HPI. You need to start EVERY HPI with age, race, and gender (e.g., 34-year-old AA male). You must include the seven attributes of each principal symptom in paragraph form not a list. If the CC was “headache”, the LOCATES for the HPI might look like the following example:

Location: head

Onset: 3 days ago

Character: pounding, pressure around the eyes and temples

Associated signs and symptoms: nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia

Timing: after being on the computer all day at work

Exacerbating/ relieving factors: light bothers eyes, Aleve makes it tolerable but not completely better

Severity: 7/10 pain scale

Current Medications: include dosage, frequency, length of time used and reason for use; also include OTC or homeopathic products.

Allergies: include medication, food, and environmental allergies separately (a description of what the allergy is ie angioedema, anaphylaxis, etc. This will help determine a true reaction vs intolerance).

PMHx: include immunization status (note date of last tetanus for all adults), past major illnesses and surgeries. Depending on the CC, more info is sometimes needed

Soc Hx: include occupation and major hobbies, family status, tobacco & alcohol use (previous and current use), any other pertinent data. Always add some health promo question here – such as whether they use seat belts all the time or whether they have working smoke detectors in the house, living environment, text/cell phone use while driving, and support system.

Fam Hx: illnesses with possible genetic predisposition, contagious or chronic illnesses. Reason for death of any deceased first degree relatives should be included. Include parents, grandparents, siblings, and children. Include grandchildren if pertinent.

ROS: cover all body systems that may help you include or rule out a differential diagnosis You should list each system as follows: General: Head: EENT: etc. You should list these in bullet format and document the systems in order from head to toe.

Example of Complete ROS:

GENERAL:  No weight loss, fever, chills, weakness or fatigue.

HEENT:  Eyes:  No visual loss, blurred vision, double vision or yellow sclerae. Ears, Nose, Throat:  No hearing loss, sneezing, congestion, runny nose or sore throat.

SKIN:  No rash or itching.

CARDIOVASCULAR:  No chest pain, chest pressure or chest discomfort. No palpitations or edema.

RESPIRATORY:  No shortness of breath, cough or sputum.

GASTROINTESTINAL:  No anorexia, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. No abdominal pain or blood.

GENITOURINARY:  Burning on urination. Pregnancy. Last menstrual period, MM/DD/YYYY.

NEUROLOGICAL:  No headache, dizziness, syncope, paralysis, ataxia, numbness or tingling in the extremities. No change in bowel or bladder control.

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MUSCULOSKELETAL:  No muscle, back pain, joint pain or stiffness.

HEMATOLOGIC:  No anemia, bleeding or bruising.

Assignment Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain Essay
Assignment Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain Essay

LYMPHATICS:  No enlarged nodes. No history of splenectomy.

PSYCHIATRIC:  No history of depression or anxiety.

ENDOCRINOLOGIC:  No reports of sweating, cold or heat intolerance. No polyuria or polydipsia.

ALLERGIES:  No history of asthma, hives, eczema or rhinitis.

O.

Physical exam: From head-to-toe, include what you see, hear, and feel when doing your physical exam. You only need to examine the systems that are pertinent to the CC, HPI, and History. Do not use “WNL” or “normal.” You must describe what you see. Always document in head to toe format i.e. General: Head: EENT: etc.

Diagnostic results: Include any labs, x-rays, or other diagnostics that are needed to develop the differential diagnoses (support with evidenced and guidelines)

A.

Differential Diagnoses (list a minimum of 3 differential diagnoses).Your primary or presumptive diagnosis should be at the top of the list. For each diagnosis, provide supportive documentation with evidence based guidelines.

This section is not required for the assignments in this course (NURS 6512) but will be required for future courses.

References

You are required to include at least three evidence based peer-reviewed journal articles or evidenced based guidelines which relates to this case to support your diagnostics and differentials diagnoses. Be sure to use correct APA 6th edition formatting.

Subjective

CC: Lower back pain

HPI: Hispanic male patient JM, age 42, presented to the clinic today complaining of severe lower back pain over the past month. Periodically, the pain travels along his left leg. He felt a sharp, throbbing pain in his left lower leg, along with a tingling feeling. He said the ache in his back was an eight out of ten. He feels more discomfort when he lifts heavy objects, bends, or sits for lengthy periods of time. He says over-the-counter ibuprofen helps a little.

Current Medications:

OTC Ibuprofen 400mg Q4hrs as needed for pain.

Claritin 10mg daily for allergies

Lisinopril 5mg daily for hypertension

Allergies: No known drug allergy; environmental allergies: Pollen (Reaction- sneezing and watery eyes).

PMHx: Medical history includes hypertension 5 years ago. No hospitalizations. His vaccinations are all current.

Past surgical Hx: No surgical history reported.

Social Hx: JM has a high school diploma and is employed as a bricklayer for a local construction company. He is married and resides in a three-bedroom home with his wife and 10-year-old son. For the last ten years, he has been smoking one pack of cigarettes per day. He denied consuming alcohol or using illegal substances. Because of his back pain, he refuses to exercise on a regular basis. He follows a healthy diet that includes fruits and vegetables.

Family Hx: Mother is 65 years old, living, and has been diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. His father is 70 years old, living and suffering from hypertension and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Grandpa on the mother’s side passed away at age 64 due to heart attack complications. Maternal grandmother died at age 73 from asthma and diabetes related problems. His paternal grandfather passed away at age 71 due to COPD-related illnesses. His paternal grandmother was 55 years old when she passed away from lung cancer. At the age of 45, one sibling was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. One healthy kid of 10 years old.

ROS:

General: Reported intermittent tingling and numbness in the left limb. No reports of fever, chills, or weight loss.

HEENT: Denies head injury, blurred vision, hearing loss. No changes in smell or taste reported. No complaints of epistaxis.  No sore throat was reported.

Skin: No skin lesion, mole, or rash.

Cardiovascular: No reports of heart murmur, chest discomfort, and irregular heartbeat.  No edema in the extremities.

Respiratory: No reports of cough or dyspnea.

Neurological: Denies migraines, fainting, or convulsions. No reports of coordination problems.

Musculoskeletal: Pain in the lower back and sometimes in the left leg. Denies that other parts of the body have swollen joints or muscle pain.

Hematologic/Lymphatic: Denies bleeding or bruising. Denies enlarged nodes or history of splenectomy.

Endocrine: No heat or cold intolerance reported. No c/o polydipsia or polyuria.

 Objective

Physical Exam:

General: Patient is alert and oriented x3. He is calm and answers interview questions appropriately. He is well-nourished and well- developed. He reports weakness to the left lower extremity.

Vitals: BP- 145/88mmHg; HR- 90bpm and regular; Resp- 19bpm and regular; Temp- 98.5F orally; SPO2 99%R/A; Height- 5’8”; Weight- 166lbs; BMI- 25.2.

Skin: Turgor is good. No rashes or lesions.

HEENT: Head is normocephalic. PERRLA. Conjunctivae negative for exudate and hemorrhage. External auditory canal is patent. Ears are nontender and not swollen. Nares are patent. Nasal mucosa is pink without drainage. Oral mucosa is moist, pink with no lesions. No tonsillar swelling, no pharyngeal swelling.

Cardiovascular/peripheral Vascular: Presence of S1S2 heart sounds during auscultation; no murmurs. Heart rate regular rhythm. Peripheral pulses 2+ symmetrical bilaterally. No peripheral edema.

Respiratory: Chest symmetrical. No adventitious lung sound auscultated.

Gastrointestinal: Abdomen is symmetrical. Normoactive bowel sounds x four quadrants. Abdomen is soft, nontender. No palpable masses.

Musculoskeletal: Low back pain with flexion, extension, and twisting. Limited ROM to lower extremities. No sign of trauma to lower back.

Neurological: Alert and oriented x3. Appropriate affect and mood.

Diagnostic Test:

  1. Complete blood count (CBC) to verify infection (high WBC count).
  2. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) to detect inflammation.
  3. A computed tomography (CT) scan to detect unusual tissues and analyze the patient’s spinal status.
  4. Imaging of the spinal cord and nerves using (MRI) magnetic resonance imaging (Dains et al., 2019).

 Assessment

Differential Diagnosis:

  1. Lumber disc herniation (LDH): Lumbar disc herniation is defined as the movement of disc material (annulus fibrosis or nucleus pulposus) over the intervertebral disc area, causing low back and/or leg pain (Yang et al., 2022). It usually starts with lower back discomfort that spreads down one leg and is often followed by sensations of numbness or tingling in the lower leg. The symptoms of LDH correspond to the patient’s chief concern.
  2. Sciatica: Sciatica is characterized by radiating and tingling pain down the leg and lower back caused by inflammation or compression of the lumbosacral nerve roots (Jensen et al., 2019). Furthermore, sciatica is frequently brought on by a herniated spinal disk, excessive movement, or heavy lifting, according to Dains et al. (2019). The patient is overweight, and his job requires heavy lifting and recurrent movements, which may contribute to his lower back pain.
  3. Lumber Spinal Stenosis (LSS): Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a degenerative disc condition that causes the area encompassing the vertebrae’s neurovascular systems to narrow (Fishchenko et al., 2018). Symptoms of nerve inflammation or compression include discomfort and weakness or numbness in the legs. A history, physical examination, and imaging studies are used to make the diagnosis. The assessment should concentrate on leg or buttock pain while ambulating and stretching to alleviate symptoms (Chagnas et al., 2019).
  4. Piriformis Syndrome (PS): Muscle spasm in the piriformis and/or irritation of the sciatic nerve in the area are the root causes of piriformis syndrome, as stated by Siddiq & Rasker (2019). Physical examination, patient history, and imaging studies like x-rays are used to determine the diagnosis of PS. The authors indicated that the flexion-adduction-internal rotation test, the Pace sign, and the Freiberg techniques are used to identify individuals with PS. Pain and weakness by resisted abduction and external rotation of the hip while seated suggests signs of Pace. The Freiberg sign manifests as pain and weakness with passive forced internal rotation of the hip in a supine position.
  5. Lumbar spondylolisthesis: Low back pain, lower limb radiating pain, and sporadic neurogenic claudication are symptoms of lumbar spondylolisthesis, a degenerative condition of the lumbar spine (Wang et al., 2022). The patient’s symptoms match the above statement, too.

  

                                                                                     References

Chagnas, M.-O., Poiraudeau, S., Lef vre-Colau, M.-M., Rannou, F., & Nguyen, C. (2019).

Diagnosis and management of lumbar spinal stenosis in primary care in france: A survey

of general practitioners. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 20(1).

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-019-2782-y

Dains, J.E., Baumann, L.C., & Scheibel, P. (2019). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (6th ed.). St.

Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Fishchenko, I. V., Kravchuk, L. D., & Perepechay, O. A. (2018). Lumbar spinal stenosis: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment (meta-

analysis of literature data). Pain Medicine, 3(1), 18–32. https:// doi -org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.31636/pmjua.v3i1.83

Jensen, R.K., Kongstead, A., Kjaer, P., & Koes, B. (2019). Diagnosis and treatment of sciatica. BMJ. 16273.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.16273

Siddiq, M. B., & Rasker, J.J (2019). Piriformis pyomyositis, a cause of piriformis syndrome-a systematic search and review. Clinical

            Rheumatology, 38(7), 1811-1821. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-019-04552-y

Wang, P., Zhang, J., Liu, T., Yang, J., & Hao, D. (2022). Comparison of degenerative lumbar

spondylolisthesis and isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis: Effect of pedicle screw

placement on proximal facet invasion in surgical treatment. BMC Musculoskeletal

            Disorders, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04962-7

Yang, S., Shao, Y., Yan, Q., Wu, C., Yang, H., & Zou, J. (2021). Differential diagnosis strategy

between lower extremity arterial occlusive disease and lumbar disc herniation. BioMed

            Research International, 2021, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6653579