In the healthy newborn infant, purposeless extremity movements have a well-defined muscular tone, despite the lack of coordinated motor function. Concomitantly, full-term newborns have well-developed suck and swallow function. At…
TRANSIENT NEONATAL MYASTHENIA GRAVIS (TNMG) Mothers with autoimmune MG have a 15% incidence of having babies with TNMG despite the finding that all infants born to seropositive mothers have circulating…
Two types of muscle tone can be assessed clinically: postural and phasic. Postural (antigravity) tone is a sustained, low-intensity muscle contraction in response to gravity. It is mediated by both…
Somatoform diagnoses encompass disorders of somatization, conversion, pain, body dysmorphic disorder, and hypochondriasis, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) criteria (American Psychiatric Association). Each is characterized…
DIAGNOSIS Pain behavior in the context of chronic pain has a wide differential diagnosis, requiring clinicians to incorporate historical and examination findings into an unbiased patient-centered global assessment. However, sensory…
Peripheral nerve degeneration is the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism. Axons require their neuronal cell bodies to remain healthy to maintain appropriate nerve activity and function; however, when neuronal damage occurs, the…
In general, true hip pain manifests as groin pain that sometimes radiates to the knee. Thigh pain, buttock pain, and pain radiating below the knee are more often attributable to…
CLINICAL EVALUATION Focused history and physical examinations are fundamental elements in the assessment of low back pain. They are especially helpful in the preliminary classification of acute LBP into one…
Rotation. Place one hand on the pelvis and the other on the opposite shoulder. Rotate the pelvis and shoulder posteriorly and repeat on the other side; note any asymmetry in…
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY LZ joint pain primarily results from repetitive load-bearing strain accumulated over a lifetime; rarely, LZ joint arthropathy is traced to one inciting event. During midlife, cartilaginous changes accelerate, and…
