Hmmm..What’s going on here? Can you see it?

Welcome to Monday, Folks, and News You Can Use! Sometimes, it’s the subtle things that make all the difference.

Take a look at this patients right leg versus left legs (knees in particular). What do you see?  Can you notice the subtle bend in the right knee?  Can you see how she hyperextends the left? Can you see that she has an anatomical deficiency (Tibial) of the left tibia? This is a common finding if you look for it.

 Noticing subtle changes like these in your examination can make all the difference in your outcomes. This particular patient happens to have right-sided knee pain. On examination (difficult to see from the photos) she has increased amounts of mid foot pronation.  She presented with right sided back pain running from the supra iliac region up along the right lumbar paraspinal’s. You can manipulate this patient forever and her problem is not going to improve until you address the cause.

 Develop keen sense of observation. Become a “student of the obvious”.  Keep your eyes and ears open. Expand your clinical skill set.  Sometimes, when all we have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.