FSEM MSK Diploma key terms

A symptom, sign or historical feature that raises suspicion of serious pathology such as fracture, infection, tumour or cauda equina syndrome, prompting urgent investigation or referral instead of routine musculoskeletal care.

The proportion of people who genuinely have a condition and are correctly classified as positive by a test. High sensitivity makes a test useful for ruling a diagnosis out when the result is negative.

The proportion of people without the condition who are correctly classified as negative by a test. High specificity makes a positive result useful for confirming the diagnosis under consideration.

A statistic describing how much a given test result changes the odds of disease. It is derived from sensitivity and specificity and can be applied to an individual patient's pre-test probability.

The strip of skin whose sensation is carried by fibres from a single spinal nerve root. Mapping sensation across dermatomes helps localise the level of a suspected nerve root lesion.

The group of muscles predominantly supplied by motor fibres from one spinal nerve root. Resisted testing of key myotomes helps identify the level involved in a motor radiculopathy.

A sequence of passive joint positions that loads a specific nerve tract with tension or sliding movement. Reproduction of the patient's familiar symptoms suggests heightened nerve mechanosensitivity.

An ordinal six-point scale from 0 (no contraction) to 5 (normal strength) used to record voluntary muscle power. Reliability is poorest in the middle grades.

A nine-point examination scoring hypermobility at four paired joints plus forward trunk flexion. It quantifies generalised joint mobility but does not by itself diagnose a hypermobility syndrome.

A validated clinical decision aid for ankle and midfoot injuries that indicates radiography when there is bone tenderness at specified sites or inability to bear weight.

The planned, gradual increase of mechanical stress applied to healing tissue so that it adapts without exceeding current tolerance. It underpins rehabilitation of tendon, bone and muscle injuries.

Deliberately adjusting the volume, intensity and frequency of training or activity so accumulated load stays compatible with tissue capacity, reducing injury risk and supporting recovery.

Muscle action in which the muscle contracts while lengthening under load, for example lowering a weight slowly. It is used to build muscle and tendon capacity in rehabilitation.

A tendon rehabilitation protocol using high loads of roughly 70 to 85 percent of maximum with slow, controlled repetitions and rest intervals. It reduces pain and improves tendon structure in chronic tendinopathy.

Low-load resistance exercise performed while a cuff partially restricts blood flow to the limb. It increases strength with minimal joint loading, which is useful when heavy loads are poorly tolerated.

Local administration of a glucocorticoid suspension into a joint, bursa or tendon sheath to reduce inflammation and pain. Benefits are usually short-lived, and repeated tendon injections may weaken tissue.

Amplified responsiveness of central nervous system pain pathways to normal or subthreshold input, producing spreading, disproportionate pain. It is a key mechanism in many persistent pain conditions.

A pattern of thinking that magnifies the threat and severity of pain, fosters helplessness, and makes attention hard to divert. It predicts poorer outcomes and is addressed in psychologically informed rehabilitation.

An explanation of chronic disability in which pain is interpreted as threatening, leading to avoidance, disuse, deconditioning and further pain, while gradual exposure reverses the cycle.

A chronic disorder characterised by widespread pain, fatigue, unrefreshing sleep and cognitive difficulties, with heightened sensitivity to pressure and other stimuli. Diagnosis is clinical, without confirmatory laboratory tests.

An inflammatory disorder of older adults causing bilateral shoulder and hip girdle pain with marked morning stiffness and raised inflammatory markers. It usually responds quickly to low-dose glucocorticoids.

A chronic inflammatory arthritis mainly affecting the sacroiliac joints and spine, causing back pain and stiffness that improves with activity. The HLA-B27 antigen is present in most cases.

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug. These agents slow structural damage and control disease activity in inflammatory arthritis rather than only relieving symptoms; methotrexate is the commonest conventional example.

A clinical syndrome of activity-related joint pain, brief stiffness and reduced function accompanying variable structural change. Exercise, weight management and education are core treatments regardless of imaging findings.

A crystal arthropathy caused by deposition of monosodium urate, typically producing sudden severe monoarthritis at the first metatarsophalangeal joint. Definitive diagnosis requires identifying crystals in joint fluid.

A syndrome in which insufficient energy availability impairs bone health, menstrual function, immunity, metabolism and performance. It can affect male and female athletes at any level of participation.

A mild traumatic brain injury caused by biomechanical forces, producing rapidly evolving neurological symptoms that usually settle spontaneously. Diagnosis is clinical, and no scan or single test confirms it.

An overuse continuum from stress reaction to complete fracture when repetitive loading outpaces bone remodelling. High-risk sites such as the femoral neck need early recognition and protected loading.

Population recommendations describing the activity dose linked with substantial health benefit, typically 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity weekly plus strengthening twice weekly.

A prescription framework specifying Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type of exercise so that a programme can be individualised and progressed for a particular patient or athlete.

A structured assessment before sporting participation, combining history, examination and targeted investigations such as electrocardiography, to identify conditions that raise the risk of sudden death or injury.

A decision that an athlete may resume full training and competition, based on tissue healing, restored strength and control, sport-specific testing and an acceptable risk of recurrence.

The smallest change in an outcome measure that patients perceive as worthwhile. It helps clinicians judge whether a statistically significant result actually matters in everyday practice.

The number of patients who need to receive an intervention for one extra person to gain the desired outcome. It is calculated as the reciprocal of the absolute risk reduction.

A framework for rating certainty of evidence and strength of recommendations, judging risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision and publication bias across the available studies.

A conversation in which clinician and patient together weigh the options, benefits, harms and the patient's values and preferences before agreeing a management plan.

Voluntary agreement to an investigation or treatment given after the patient understands its purpose, expected benefits, risks, alternatives and the consequences of declining.

A structure for turning a clinical uncertainty into a searchable question by specifying the Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome of interest.

The tendency for studies with positive or statistically significant findings to be published more readily than negative ones, which can inflate pooled treatment effects in systematic reviews.