Fiche de révision : Spinal Injury Assessment and Management

📋 Course Outline

1. Spinal injury assessment and red flags
2. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar injuries

📖 1. Spinal injury assessment and red flags

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Red flags : Clinical findings that signal potential serious spinal pathology and require urgent escalation rather than routine treatment.
• Dermatomes : Nerve-distribution areas of skin that help localize neurologic involvement along the spinal cord or nerve roots.
• Myotomes : Specific muscle groups innervated by spinal segments that help localize neurologic involvement along the spinal cord or nerve roots.

📝 Essential Points

• Spinal injury assessment should include dermatomes, myotomes, and reflex testing to support neurologic localization.
• Clinical reasoning for special tests is required as part of the assessment workflow for suspected spinal injury.
• Red flags must be included and matched to the relevant spinal injury concern to guide urgency and next steps.

💡 Memory Hook

Dermatomes = skin map; Myotomes = muscle power; Reflexes = quick circuit check.

📖 2. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar injuries

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Reflexes : Reflex responses used to evaluate neurologic pathways and help determine the level and type of spinal nervous system involvement.
• Accessory mobilisation : A manual therapy joint movement applied to the spinal segment that can be graded to assess and influence tissue/segment behavior.
• Special tests : Targeted assessments chosen to address specific diagnostic questions during evaluation of spinal injury.

📝 Essential Points

• Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar injuries should each be covered with anatomy, injury etiology, and epidemiology within the revision plan.
• Accessory mobilisation should be included with grading as part of the spine-related practical assessment content.
• Why dermatomes, myotomes, and reflexes are used clinically must be explained alongside injury level coverage for cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Confusions

1. Students may confuse dermatomes (skin sensation) with myotomes (motor power), which can lead to wrong level localization.
2. Students may focus on accessory mobilisation grading while underusing red-flag screening, delaying urgent referral when indicated.

✅ Exam Checklist

1. Screen for spinal injury red flags and state what triggers urgent escalation rather than routine management.
2. Explain how dermatomes help localize neurologic involvement in spinal injury assessment.
3. Explain how myotomes help localize neurologic involvement in spinal injury assessment.
4. Perform and interpret reflex testing as part of spinal injury neurologic evaluation.
5. State why dermatomes, myotomes, and reflexes are done clinically for spinal injury cases.
6. Justify which special tests you choose and the clinical reasoning behind each choice.
7. Describe cervical spinal injury content including anatomy, injury etiology, and epidemiology.
8. Describe thoracic spinal injury content including anatomy, injury etiology, and epidemiology.
9. Describe lumbar spinal injury content including anatomy, injury etiology, and epidemiology.
10. Include accessory mobilisation in spine assessment content and name how grading is applied.