Doctors touch your leg to check your nerves and reflexes (with a hammer), feel for swelling (edema) indicating heart/kidney/liver issues, check circulation and pulses for vascular problems like blood clots, assess skin for diabetes-related issues, and feel for lumps or inflammation in lymph nodes, all to diagnose underlying conditions from diabetes to infections to heart failure.
We check your legs and feet to look for swelling. People with heart or liver disease may have fluid back-up in their legs, but it can also be a sign of infection or blood clots. We also check the pulses in your feet and look for any skin problems.
It is also known as a deep tendon reflex (DTR) because the doctor is actually tapping on a tendon called the patellar (say: puh-TEL-ur) tendon. This tap stretches the tendon and the muscle in the thigh that connects to it. A message then gets sent to the spinal cord that the muscle has been stretched.
Tap Your Knee
Does your doctor simply get a kick out of hitting you in the knee with a tiny hammer? Well, maybe, but that's not why they do it. It's to test your reflexes. If all is well, your knee will automatically make a small kicking motion when your doctor hits it in just the right spot.
Your healthcare provider will test an area of your body for edema by gently pressing their finger on a swollen area of your skin for five to 15 seconds (pitting test). After they release pressure, a dimple (pit) will appear in your skin. The pit indicates that there is fluid built up in your tissues.
You can have swelling due to fluid buildup from being overweight, being inactive, sitting or standing for a long time, or wearing tight stockings or jeans. Factors related to fluid buildup include: Acute kidney injury. Cardiomyopathy (problem with the heart muscle)
Swelling of the foot, ankle and leg can be bad enough to leave a dimple, also known as a pit, in the skin after pressing on the area. This swelling, called edema, is the result of too much fluid in the tissues.
I love the questions that I get from my pediatric patients and today, I had a little boy ask me why do you ask me to say ah when I open my mouth up and so in case you didn't know, the reason doctors ask you to say ah is so that your soft palate which is at the back of your throat where the hanging ball is, it raises up ...
Otoscopy, the visual examination of the ear using an otoscope, is a vital component of primary care practice. This diagnostic tool allows primary care physicians to assess the external auditory canal and tympanic membrane, facilitating the detection, diagnosis, and management of various ear conditions.
An absent or diminished patellar tendon reflex may be due to PNS pathology affecting either the afferent sensory neurons or the efferent motor neurons. If the reflex is absent or diminished combined with sensory loss, the lesion is likely in the afferent sensory nerves.
Healthcare providers use the deep tendon reflex (DTR) examination to check for hyporeflexia or hyperreflexia as part of a neurological exam. The best known of the reflexes is the patellar, or knee-jerk, reflex. The DTR exam involves a healthcare provider tapping your knee with a rubber hammer (it shouldn't hurt).
Most of the time, these noises are natural and do not necessarily mean that you'll develop other issues (including arthritis). Meniscus tear. If you feel some pain as the clicking/popping occurs, it could be a sign of a meniscus tear, which means there is a small piece of loose cartilage caught in the knee.
Percussion
Your healthcare provider will lay one hand on your chest while using the other to tap different spots on your chest. Sections of a healthy lung will resonate, sounding clear. Denser tissue, or areas where there is an abnormal collection of fluid, will sound duller to percussion.
Doctors usually can't tell if someone has been masturbating (touching or rubbing their genitals because they like the way it feels).
General examination gathers information about your body before other symptoms are visible. While the tongue may not clearly define the particular ailment, it is a perfect place to start. If you know what to look out for, you can tell a lot about a patient's condition by carefully looking at the tongue.
Swelling in your ankles and feet is often an early symptom of venous insufficiency, a condition where the veins in your legs struggle to send blood back to your heart. Chronic venous insufficiency can lead to skin changes, skin ulcers, and infection. If you have signs of venous insufficiency, see your doctor.
This exam with the hands gives healthcare providers information about important parts of the body. These are the liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, stomach, pancreas, bladder, gallbladder, appendix, and the abdominal aorta. This aorta is the main blood vessel from your heart to your legs.
If you have symptoms of an ear infection, the GP or pharmacist may use an instrument with a small light and magnifying glass (an otoscope) to look in your ear.
One of the things your healthcare provider checks for in an exam of the neck and throat is swollen glands (enlarged lymph nodes). Your lymph nodes are located all over your neck and around your ears. They are normally small and soft. When you feel well, they're about the size of corn kernels.
The short answer is not exactly. Dentists cannot “diagnose” sexual activity, but certain changes in the mouth might suggest patterns or habits. However, it's important to understand that these signs can be caused by many different things, not just sexual activity.
Bronchophony: While auscultating the lung fields, the patient is asked to repeat "99." Bronchophony is present if the "99" appears louder and more distinct over certain areas, suggesting underlying consolidation.
Look and Learn: A Visual Exam of the Tongue
“The tongue can provide vital clues about your overall health and be an early indicator of certain diseases or deficiencies,” says Jacob Wolf, ND, LAc, a naturopathic doctor at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health.
Symptoms of fluid retention
Sock marks are indentations left on your legs where the elastic of the socks has compressed your skin. They are typically caused by tight-fitting socks that press against your skin and leave a mark. However, there are times when these marks could indicate other factors at play, such as leg swelling or fluid retention.
Poor skin turgor occurs with vomiting, diarrhea, or fever. The skin is very slow to return to normal, or the skin "tents" up during a check. This can indicate severe dehydration that needs quick treatment. You have reduced skin turgor and are unable to increase your intake of fluids (for example, because of vomiting).