Differential Diagnosis of Lower Extremity Pain

Course Description

It is important for the rehabilitation specialist to be educated regarding the differential diagnosis of lower extremity pain.  With the introduction of direct access, privately owned therapy clinics and telehealth, therapists play an important role in screening other systems in order to refer patients to appropriate medical providers. The focus of this course is to differentiate between lower extremity pain of musculoskeletal origin and pain secondary to other systemic causes. This course includes the identification of red flags, information regarding criteria for referral to physician/emergency services, special tests and the latest clinical practice guidelines pertaining to the hip, knee and ankle joints. This course will aid the rehabilitation specialist in providing effective timely treatment to the patient, identifying red flags thus saving time and resources.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Recognize red flags in the differential diagnosis of lower extremity pain and summarize the guidelines for referral to physician/emergency services.
• Differentiate musculoskeletal causes of hip, knee and ankle pain.
• Identify non-musculoskeletal/systemic potential causes of hip, knee and ankle pain.
• Recall two vascular and two oncologic causes of lower extremity pain

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Intermediate

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to complete a 10 question post-test with a minimum passing score of 70%.