Expert Treatment
Orthopedic special tests are used during a physical examination by physicians in orthopedics and sports medicine. The tests can be used to rule in or out whether a patient has a certain musculoskeletal problem. They are very helpful in diagnosing orthopedic conditions and sports injuries.
Orthopedic special tests aim to make the diagnostic process more precise by implicating specific tissue structures that are dysfunctional, pathological, or lack structural integrity. Uses of special tests include confirming a tentative diagnosis, assisting in the differential diagnosis process, distinguishing between or among various potentially pathological tissues that may be symptomatic, and making sense of atypical objective and subjective patient signs and symptoms. Orthopedic special tests then leads the practitioner to make clinical diagnosis, select appropriate interventions and establish a prognosis, ultimately and ideally leading the patient to an optimal outcome.