Cotton test: How to perform and interpret this ankle assessment
A positive cotton test means over 3-4 mm lateral talar translation. Specificity nears 100%, but a negative misses partial tears.
Shrug test: How to perform and interpret the shoulder shrug sign
The shrug test shows whether a patient lifts the shoulder girdle to compensate for restricted glenohumeral movement. You ask the patient to raise the arm out to the side toward 90 degrees of abduction, then repeat it in forward flexion. A positive shrug sign means the girdle rises early, before the glenohumeral joint has used […]
Costoclavicular test: How to perform, interpret, and document
The costoclavicular test is a provocation test for thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). It narrows the space between the first rib and the clavicle so that neurovascular compression symptoms reappear. The patient braces both shoulders back and down for 30 to 60 seconds while you monitor the radial pulse. The result is positive only when the […]
ICD-10 Code M18.2: Post-traumatic CMC OA coding guide
ICD-10 code M18.2: Definition and official descriptor ICD-10 code M18.2 is defined as “Bilateral post-traumatic osteoarthritis of first carpometacarpal joints” in the ICD-10-CM tabular list. That list is maintained by CMS and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). It is a specific, billable code valid for HIPAA-covered claim transactions in FY2025 and FY2026. Those […]
Moberg pick-up test: How to administer, score, and interpret
The Moberg pick-up test is a timed hand assessment that measures tactile gnosis, the ability to recognize and handle small objects by touch alone. A patient picks up nine to twelve metal objects twice, once with eyes open and once with eyes closed. You record the seconds each trial takes. The eyes-closed time on the […]
Lateral hop test: Protocol, scoring and return-to-sport use
The lateral hop test is a single-leg functional test in which the patient hops sideways between two markers set 40 cm apart, for 30 seconds. The score is the number of clean hops completed on each leg. Dividing the involved limb’s count by the uninvolved limb’s count gives the limb symmetry index. A value of […]
Lateral scapular slide test: How to perform and interpret results
A side-to-side difference of 1.5 cm or more at any of the three arm positions is a positive lateral scapular slide test.
Neck exam: A systematic clinical guide for practitioners
A neck exam is a systematic clinical assessment of the cervical structures, soft tissues, and neurological function of the neck. It runs in four phases: inspection, palpation, range of motion, then neurological and special testing. A red-flag screen comes first, because a handful of findings stop the exam before it starts. The same sequence serves […]
List the principles of exercise
The 7 principles of exercise: specificity, overload, progression, adaptation, recovery, reversibility, and individual differences.
OSTRC Overuse Injury Questionnaire
The OSTRC overuse injury questionnaire is a four-item weekly tool that records how an overuse problem affects an athlete. Clarsen and colleagues at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre published it in 2013 and updated it as the OSTRC-O2 in 2020. It asks about four consequences of the problem: sports participation, modified training, performance, and […]