Meniscus injury
— Injuries to the crescent-shaped cartilage pads between the two joints formed by the femur (the thigh bone) and the tibia (the shin bone). The meniscus acts as a smooth surface for the joint to move on.
The two menisci are easily injured by the force of rotating the knee while bearing weight. A partial or total tear of a meniscus may occur when a person quickly twists or rotates the upper leg while the foot stays still (for example, when dribbling a basketball around an opponent or turning to hit a tennis ball). If the tear is tiny, the meniscus stays connected to the front and back of the knee; if the tear is large, the meniscus may be left hanging by a thread of cartilage. The seriousness of a tear depends on its location and extent.
Migrane Headache
— A form of vascular headache. Migraine headache is caused by a combination of vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the blood vessels. During a migraine attack, the temporal artery enlarges. (The temporal artery is an artery that lies on the outside of the skull just under the skin of the temple.) Enlargement of the temporal artery stretches the nerves that coil around the artery and causes the nerves to release chemicals. The chemicals cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery. The increasing enlargement of the artery magnifies the pain.
MRI
— (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) A device using strong magnets and radio waves to create an image of the internal structures of the body.
N
Narrative
— A written report by the doctor that includes a patients health history, a description of the patients complaint(s), examination findings, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
Neural Canal
— The opening in the spine through which the spinal cord passes.
Neurological
— Pertaining to the nervous system.
Neurologist
— Medical doctor who is a specialist of the nervous system.
No fault
— A form of insurance in which a person’s losses from an automobile accident are paid by his or her own insurer regardless of who was at fault.
Nucleus pulposus
— The gelatinous mass in the center of the intervertebral disc.
O
Objective complaints
— What the doctor finds by examination.
Oblique
— Slanting; diagonal.
Occipital
— Pertaining to the back of the head.
Orthopedics
— Pertaining to the correction or prevention of deformities of the musculoskeletal system.
Orthopedist
— Medical doctor who specializes in the preservation and restoration of the skeletal system and its articulations.
Osteopathy
— A medical therapy that emphasizes manipulative procedures and uses medication or surgery and specializes in various areas of medicine.
Out-of-network
— A provision for reimbursement of services by a provider who is not a member of the patients HMO that usually involves a higher co-pay or a reduction in reimbursement.
P
Palpation
— Examining the spine with your fingers; the art of feeling with the hand.
Pathology
— A disease process.
Pathophysiology
— A malfunction of the body system(s) and/or spine.
Pediatrics
— The care of infants and children and the treatment of their diseases.
Peripheral Nerve System
— The nervous system that connects the central nervous system with every cell, tissue, and organ of the body.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
— A type of coverage in an auto policy that pays for medical costs in case of an accident.
Personal injury
— An injury sustained from an automobile or slip and fall accident.
Physiology
— The biological science of essential and characteristic life processes, activities, and functions; the vital processes of an organism.
Physiotherapy
— Treatment with physical and mechanical means, such as massage, electricity, etc.
Posterior
— Toward the back of the body.
Post-examination
— An examination used to monitor the healing process and the patients progress towards recovery.
PPO
— Preferred Provider Organization. A network of doctors and hospitals that contract with an insurance company or employer to provide employees with services at competitive rates.
Pre-authorization
— The prior approval required by some payers before benefit payments will be granted.
Preventive care
— Health care that focuses on early detection and treatment in an attempt to reduce costs.
Prognosis
— A prediction of the probable course and outcome of a disease or the likelihood of recovery from a disease.
Prone
— Lying horizontal with the face downward.
Provider
— Those who provide health care services, such as hospitals, physicians, chiropractors, nurse practitioners and others.
PT
— Physical therapy.
Q
There are no Terms that begin with the letter "Q".
R
Radiograph
— A specially sensitized film that records the internal structures of the body by the passage of X-rays. An X-ray film.
Range of Motion
— The range, measured in degrees of a circle, through which a joint can be extended and flexed.
Rare Earth Screens
— A phosphorous coated panel placed next to X-ray film that glows when it is exposed to X-ray radiation, reducing exposures and enhancing the image.
Reasonable fee
— A fee determined by a carrier that is consistent with the going rate in a geographical area for similar services.
Reflex
— An involuntary action resulting from a stimulus.
Rehabilitative Care
— A type of chiropractic care with the objective of strengthening the spine and providing optimum healing of the function of the spine, associated tissues, and organ systems.
Reimbursement
— The payment of the expenses incurred because of an accident or sickness, up to any limit specified in the policy.
Relief Care
— See Initial Intensive Care.
Report of Findings
— A short presentation, usually by the doctor, describing the patients problem, how long it will take to correct, and the prognosis.
S
S.O.A.P notes
— A system of patient record keeping based on the patients Subjective complaints, Objective complaints, Doctor's Assessment, and treatment Plan.
Sacrum
— The triangular bone at the base of the spine.
Sciatica
— A pain that radiates from the back into the buttocks and into the leg caused by the irritation of the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body.
Scoliosis
— A sideways curve of the spine as viewed from the back.
Slipped Disc
— An incorrect name given a condition in which a disc becomes wedge-shaped and bulges. In extreme cases this pressure will cause a disc to rupture.
SOT
— SOT stands for Sacro Occipital Technique, a method of normalizing the relationship between the foundation of the spine and the top of the spine by specifically positioning the body to use its weight to correct the body.
Spasm
— A contraction of muscle tissue.
Spinous Process
— A posterior protruding part of a spinal bone that can be seen or felt when examining the spine.
Spurring
— A projecting body, as from a bone.
Subjective complaints
— Those problems identified by the patient such as headaches, leg pain, etc.
Subluxation
— A misalignment and malfunction of the spine that is less than a dislocation that interferes with the nervous system, associated organs, muscles, and soft tissues of the body.
Superior
— Upper or higher in position.
Supine
— Lying horizontal on the back with the face upward.
T
Technique
— A specific procedure, method or maneuver used to correct spinal problems.
Therapy
— Methods used to assist in the relief of pain, rehabilitation, and restoration of normal body functions.
Third-Party payer
— Any payer for health care services other than the patient such as an insurance company, HMO, PPO or the government.
Thoracic
— Pertaining to the part of the spinal column from the base of the neck to about six inches above the waistline.
Traction
— The act of drawing or exerting a pulling force, as along the long axis of a structure.
Transverse Process
— Lateral protrusions (wings) of bone from the vertebrae to which powerful muscles attach.
Trigger Point
— An involuntarily tight band of muscle that is painful when pressed and can cause referred pain in other parts of the body.
U
Ultrasound
— High frequency inaudible sounds whose vibrations can be used for heating internal structures of the body.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
— An insurance provision that pays for bodily injury to you, a family member or others in your car when the injury is caused by an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run driver.
Usual fee
— Fee that a doctor usually charges for a specific service.
V
Vertebra
— Any of the individual bones of the spinal column.
Vertebral Subluxation Complex
— Various kinds of pathology resulting from a Vertebral Subluxation which often include spinal kinesiopathology, neuropathophysiology, myopathology, histopathology and pathophysiology.
Vertebral Subluxation
— A misalignment of spinal bones that is less than a complete dislocation but sufficient to cause disruption of nerve system function.
W
Walk in
— A patient who shows up for an unscheduled appointment.
Wellness care
— Health care that is not prompted by sickness or injury but by an attempt to achieve or promote an optimum state of physical, mental and social well-being.
Whiplash
— An injury to the cervical spine caused by an abrupt jerking motion of the head, either backward or forward.
Work hardening
— Physical conditioning, work simulation and education to build strength and endurance and help an injured employee return to work.
Worker’s Compensation
— A type of insurance that covers employee illnesses, injuries and disabilities occurring in the course of their employment.
X
X-rays
— Electromagnetic radiation that can penetrate many objects and reveal their internal structure by recording the shadow cast on photographic plates.
Y
There are no Terms that begin with the letter "Y".
Z
There are no Terms that begin with the letter "Z".
M
