RehabEdge homepageHost a course at your facilityCEU by topic and providerSearch for CEU by state, topic, format, etc.Comprehensive therapy products and supplies catalogRehabEdge Forum main pageReach thousands of therapists to show off your products and CEUAsk us.  We're here to help.

Re: low back pain with radiculitis

 
Logged in as: Guest
Users viewing this topic: none
  Printable Version
All Forums >> [RehabEdge Forum] >> Radiology Case Studies >> Re: low back pain with radiculitis Page: <<   < prev  1 2 [3] 4   next >   >>
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 25, 2005 2:57:00 PM   
Synergy


Posts: 589
Joined: March 11, 2004
From: Forney, TX
Status: offline
ROFL @ Ben!

_____________________________

Chris Adams, PT, MPT

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 41
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 25, 2005 4:50:00 PM   
chiroortho

 

Posts: 655
Joined: February 18, 2004
Status: offline
Yogi I'm really not sure what the arrow's pointing to. The sacrum is oddly shaped, kind of curving to the right,and notice how the sacral foramina are different on the left as compared to the right. The articular facets at the top of the sacrum also appear to be oriented in different planes (more or less sagittal plane on the right and coronal on the left). Not good biomechanically.

Greg

_____________________________

Greg Priest, DC, DABCO

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 42
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 26, 2005 4:16:00 AM   
chiroortho

 

Posts: 655
Joined: February 18, 2004
Status: offline
Yogi, looking at that picture again it looks like it may be pointing to an anomalous articular process that formed in an odd place on the posterior sacrum. Very odd. The surface of it appears to have a smooth surface, maybe even hyaline-type cartilage or at least a smooth subchondral surface. Hard to tell.

_____________________________

Greg Priest, DC, DABCO

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 43
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 26, 2005 8:26:00 AM   
Jeep

 

Posts: 353
Joined: March 28, 2003
From: USA
Status: offline
"FINDINGS: AP, lateral, and spot lateral lumbosacral views were obtained. There is apparent hypoplasia of the L5 and S1 vertebral bodies on the left side with mild focal curvature of the lumbar spine centered at L2-3. The remaining vertebral bodies are normal in appearance. No significant soft tissue abnormalities are noted.

IMPRESSION: Hypoplasia of the left sides of L5 and S1, likely congenital in nature. This can be better evaluated with CT if clinically indicated."


Alex-
with all due respect, that is one of the saddest rad reports I have ever read. Extremely disappointing. If I received this report, I would give the rad a call and question him/her about the use of "hypoplastic". EG. Short pedicles could be referred to as "hypoplastic". Anomolous, dysplastic would be far more accurate amd certainly expected of a specialist. The remaining 2-3 sentences say nothing.

IMO- we(posters here) did a much better job of evaluating these films than the rad.

It would be very interesting to give these films to another rad and compare reports. I do know that these films would have generated a good/informative 1 page report from the rad I use(as opposed to the 2-3 sentences here).

If you have any say as to what rad reads your films, ......I would use another.

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 44
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 26, 2005 8:39:00 AM   
JLS_PT_OCS

 

Posts: 1684
Joined: January 30, 2005
From: USA
Status: offline
It seems there is as much an art as a science to the interpretation of RAD films.
Some of us are better at the art than others, I guess...
Maybe I'm just miffed they didn't mention my DDD at L5/S1. :)
J

_____________________________

Jason Silvernail DPT, OCS, CSCS
Homo Vegetus
"It isn't what you're able to do that requires your courage but rather what you have come to understand and are willing to express." - Barrett Dorko, Writer and Physical Therapist

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 45
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 26, 2005 8:43:00 AM   
Jeep

 

Posts: 353
Joined: March 28, 2003
From: USA
Status: offline
Jason-
For what it's worth---------
IMO- "your" DDD@L5/S1(Degenerative disc?) Would be better identified as a rudimentary disc. ie- it was never a fully formed disc.

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 46
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 26, 2005 10:47:00 AM   
JLS_PT_OCS

 

Posts: 1684
Joined: January 30, 2005
From: USA
Status: offline
Thanks Jeep, I'll take your opinion over mine on the spine films any day, man...
Good education is always a good thing.
J

_____________________________

Jason Silvernail DPT, OCS, CSCS
Homo Vegetus
"It isn't what you're able to do that requires your courage but rather what you have come to understand and are willing to express." - Barrett Dorko, Writer and Physical Therapist

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 47
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 27, 2005 11:18:00 AM   
jma

 

Posts: 2301
Joined: August 24, 2000
From: NY
Status: offline
Would another radiogist come up with the same findings?

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 48
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 27, 2005 1:30:00 PM   
Jeep

 

Posts: 353
Joined: March 28, 2003
From: USA
Status: offline
What "findings" were even in this report?


IMO- Another radiologist would not "come up with the SAME findings". But I strongly beleive that another radiologist would come up with SOME findings.


I would certainly like to inquire of him of his "hypoplasia" descriptive. I do not think it is a sound "finding"(the only one detailed in the report and I question it). The rest of the report is standard page filler jargon.(Unless Alex did not post the complete report).

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 49
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 29, 2005 9:26:00 AM   
ehanso

 

Posts: 353
Joined: September 14, 2004
From: Minnesota
Status: offline
I worked with an orthopaedic surgeon and we did presentations together for sports related injuries. One of his slides showed a man in scrubs with a big set of hedge clippers clipping a hedge. The caption was "The national flower of the Radiologist, The Hedge." Still has some ongoing truth to it.

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 50
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 29, 2005 12:44:00 PM   
Jeep

 

Posts: 353
Joined: March 28, 2003
From: USA
Status: offline
Good one Falls!----------HA HA!!!!

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 51
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 30, 2005 10:34:00 AM   
JLS_PT_OCS

 

Posts: 1684
Joined: January 30, 2005
From: USA
Status: offline
Love that one!!
J

_____________________________

Jason Silvernail DPT, OCS, CSCS
Homo Vegetus
"It isn't what you're able to do that requires your courage but rather what you have come to understand and are willing to express." - Barrett Dorko, Writer and Physical Therapist

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 52
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 31, 2005 3:50:00 AM   
Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS

 

Posts: 1057
Joined: February 29, 2004
From: Kentucky
Status: offline
Hi. I am actually in the US for two weeks and am just now getting to a computer with internet access.

Sorry about the poor rad report but that is all I got. It did generate some good discussion here which is one of the best aspects of this forum and one of the goals of this forum. Thanks.

Alex

_____________________________

Alex Brenner, PT, MPT, OCS

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 53
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - August 31, 2005 8:03:00 AM   
jma

 

Posts: 2301
Joined: August 24, 2000
From: NY
Status: offline
Keep them coming Alex.

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 54
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - September 9, 2005 4:14:00 AM   
SJBird55

 

Posts: 2242
Joined: May 10, 2004
From: Michigan
Status: online
Alex... when you get back online, let us know how that darn knee is.

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 55
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - September 23, 2005 9:36:00 PM   
tim

 

Posts: 17
Joined: September 24, 2004
From: Portland, OR
Status: offline
OK< I have to ask.......why Dx this as a radiculitis? What's the evidence of radicular involvement? There are no neuro signs so we can't call it a radiculopathy but where's the positive SLR? What angles was it positive at? Was it hard or soft positive? Without a + SLR, you shouldn't call it a radiculitis, it would probably be deep referred pain and the congenital anomaly may or may not be a factor.
:)
-tim

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 56
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - September 28, 2005 2:21:00 AM   
Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS

 

Posts: 1057
Joined: February 29, 2004
From: Kentucky
Status: offline
I guess it depends on what your definition is of radiculitis. Correct me if I am wrong but I thought that a radiculitis was lumbar pain which follows a radicular type pattern but on physical exam there are no findings of a specific dermatomal pattern, sensation is usually normal as well as reflexes. A radiculopathy on the other hand there would be pain into a specific dermatomal pattern, sensation decrease in a specific dermatomal pattern, and possible absent reflex. Hence, why we name the radiculopathies S1 radicuopathy, L4 radiculopathy, C6 radic etc.

Radiculitis does not equal radiculopathy.

Right?

_____________________________

Alex Brenner, PT, MPT, OCS

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 57
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - September 28, 2005 8:13:00 AM   
jma

 

Posts: 2301
Joined: August 24, 2000
From: NY
Status: offline
I concur with that.

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 58
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - September 28, 2005 9:24:00 AM   
tim

 

Posts: 17
Joined: September 24, 2004
From: Portland, OR
Status: offline
Yup.....they are not equal but what do you define a "radicular pattern" as? To diagnose this patient as having a radiculitis means that there is something irritating the nerve root. Commonly, the clinical signs of a radiculitis are: Positive SLR (that is an SLR that reproduces the patient's reffered pain) and usually, but not always, hyperalgesia or hyperesthesia in a dermatomal pattern. You still need to name which nerve root(s) is/are irritated. Using the prefix Radic- is implying that you "know" the pathoanatomical structure is the nerve root, it can't be all of them eh? If it were, there's be other symptoms as well (probably autonomic).

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 59
Re: low back pain with radiculitis - September 29, 2005 6:10:00 PM   
chiroortho

 

Posts: 655
Joined: February 18, 2004
Status: offline
My general definition of radiculitis v. radiculopathy is that radiculitis is a transient condition of nerve root inflammation with no changes on electrodiagnostic testing whereas radiculopathy is 'permanent' nerve damage documentable on EDx testing.

I think you can have a dermatomal pattern with radiculitis, and that it will resolve with/without treatment. A foot drop due to radiculopathy will persist even after surgery.

This is not a hard and fast distinction, but it's how I explain it in depositions. My feeling is that a radiculopathy is essentially a radiculitis that has become chronic. I think another adjective that might describe 'itis' would be 'temporary' or 'short-lived'.

To be practical, when a patient comes in with reasonably dermatomal leg pain I almost always call it a radiculopathy.

_____________________________

Greg Priest, DC, DABCO

(in reply to Alex Brenner PT MPT OCS)
Post #: 60
Page:   <<   < prev  1 2 [3] 4   next >   >>
All Forums >> [RehabEdge Forum] >> Radiology Case Studies >> Re: low back pain with radiculitis Page: <<   < prev  1 2 [3] 4   next >   >>
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts



Google Custom Search
Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.5.5 Unicode

0.078