Now that we've gone through the basics of anatomy and some different diagnostic tests, we'll learn about some of the terms that your tests may show or some diagnoses that your doctor or healthcare provider might tell you you have. Many patients bring in their reports and tell me to explain the findings because it all looks like gibberish to them. Hopefully, this will help to clear up some medical terms!
Signs and symptoms: These are two common terms that get thrown around all the time. Signs refer to physical (objective) things that you can see: bruising, swelling, redness, discolouration, deformity, etc. Symptoms refer to (subjective) phenomena that are experienced by a person: pain, fatigue, anxiety, stress, etc.
Differential diagnoses: Information is collected from a patient's signs, symptoms, and tests in order to make a diagnosis. However, different conditions may share many of the same signs and symptoms. Differential diagnosis is the process of differentiating between these conditions that present so similarly in order to find the most correct one.
Soft tissue conditions
- Tendinopathy: A global term describing an injury or disease to a tendon. It may include "tendinitis" or "tendinosis." (See below.)
- Tendinitis: Acute tendon injury describing the inflammation of a tendon.
- Tendinosis: Chronic/overuse tendon injury whereby microtears are found in the tissues in and around a tendon.
- Tenosynovitis: Inflammation of the fluid-filled lining around a tendon.
- Tear: Tears of ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cartilage may be partial or full.
Bony conditions
- Fracture: Partial or complete break of a bone. There are several types of fractures (see below).
- Displaced fracture: The bone snaps into two or more parts, and the ends do not line up straight.
- Non-displaced fracture: The bone cracks either part way or all the way through but does not move and maintains its proper alignment.
- Closed fracture: The bone breaks, but there is no puncture or open wound through the skin.
- Open fracture: A fracture in which the bone breaks through the skin.
- Comminuted fracture: A fracture where the bone breaks into several pieces.
- Greenstick fracture: An incomplete fracture or bending of a bone that usually occurs in children (whose bones are softer).
- Stress fracture: A hairline crack in a bone.
- Osteoporosis: Disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue, leading to increased bone fragility and risk of fracture.
- Osteopenia: Decreased bone density but of lesser severity than osteoporosis.
- Osteoarthritis: Degenerative joint disease whereby the cartilage or cushion in between joints breaks down.
- Osteophyte: Bone spurs or bony projections that form along joint margins as a result of degeneration.
Spinal conditions
- Disc bulge or prolapse: Occurs when the nucleus (spongy center) of an intervetebral disc protrudes out of its normal space. It is still contained or held in place by the annulus (strong ligament rings that surround the nucleus).
- Disc herniation: When the nucleus of an intervetebral disc pushes completely through the annulus but remains in the disc.
- Disc sequestration: Occurs when the nucleus leaks through the annulus and separates or detaches completely from the disc itself.
- Disc degeneration: Changes that occur in the spinal discs resulting in a loss of fluid in the disc or tiny tears or cracks in the outer layer.
- Disc space narrowing: As a result of fluid loss and disc height, the distance between vertebrae decrease and causes the spaces to narrow.
- Stenosis: Narrowing of the open spaces in the spine. There are two types of stenosis (see below).
- Central/spinal stenosis: Narrowing of the spinal canal causes pressure on the spinal cord
- Lateral/foraminal stenosis: Narrowing of the foramen (holes in which nerves traverse through) causes pressure on the nerves that travel to the arms and legs.
- Scoliosis: Abnormal side-to-side curvature of the spine.
- Ankylosis: Abnormal stiffening and immobility of a joint due to fusion of the bones.
Other conditions
- Bursitis: Inflammation of a bursa (fluid-filled sac that is located around a joint to reduce friction).
- Calcification: The process by which calcium or other materials deposit and harden on a body part.
This list is by no means complete. These are only some of the more common conditions or terms that are typically encountered. Stay tuned for the next post!
