BPT BRAIN BOOSTERS
A patient is asked to perform active ankle dorsiflexion. Which muscle is primarily responsible for this movement?
Tibialis Anterior
A patient has pain and tenderness over the lateral epicondyle of the elbow, particularly during resisted wrist extension. What is the most likely condition?
Lateral epicondylitis (Tennis elbow).
Stop exercise immediately and initiate emergency management/referral. The symptoms are red flags suggestive of a possible acute cardiac event.
Foot drop.
You enter a patient's treatment area and are about to begin physiotherapy. What should you do before touching or treating the patient?
Introduce yourself, confirm the patient's identity, explain the procedure and obtain appropriate consent.
What is informed consent?
Permission given by a patient after receiving adequate information about the proposed examination or treatment, including relevant benefits, risks and alternatives.
During assessment of a patient, the physiotherapist observes increased resistance to passive movement that becomes more pronounced when the movement is performed rapidly. This finding is most characteristic of which sign?
Spasticity, commonly associated with an upper motor neuron lesion.
A patient complains of pain and stiffness in the shoulder. Passive and active movements are both significantly restricted, particularly external rotation. What condition should you strongly suspect?
Adhesive capsulitis (Frozen shoulder).
A patient stands on the right leg. During single-leg stance, the pelvis drops on the left side. Weakness of which muscle group is most likely responsible?
Right hip abductors, particularly gluteus medius.
A patient tells you, "I don't understand why you are making me do this exercise." What is the best professional response?
Explain the purpose, benefits and procedure of the exercise in simple, patient-friendly language and check the patient's understanding.
A student takes a photograph of a patient's condition for an academic presentation. Can the photograph automatically be shared with classmates because it is being used for educational purposes?
No. Appropriate consent and protection of patient confidentiality are required.
A patient recovering from prolonged immobilization has significant muscle weakness and reduced functional capacity. The physiotherapist wants to improve strength progressively. Which principle of exercise therapy requires the resistance or workload to be gradually increased as the patient's capacity improves?
Principle of progressive overload.
A 55-year-old patient reports low back pain radiating down the posterior aspect of the leg and into the foot. The patient also reports tingling and numbness. What clinical condition should be considered, and what type of structure may be involved?
Lumbar radiculopathy/sciatica; involvement of a lumbar nerve root.
A patient has resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity and a shuffling gait with reduced arm swing. Which neurological condition is most likely?
Parkinson's disease.
During gait training, a patient becomes dizzy and says they feel as though they may faint. What should you do immediately?
Stop the activity, ensure patient safety, assist the patient to a safe position, assess vital signs/clinical status and escalate if required.
A patient's relative asks you about the patient's diagnosis while the patient is not present. What should you consider before sharing confidential information?
Patient confidentiality and whether the patient has authorized disclosure. Information should not be shared inappropriately.
A patient presents with weakness of the right side of the body, increased muscle tone, exaggerated deep tendon reflexes and a positive Babinski sign. Based on these findings, would you suspect an upper motor neuron or lower motor neuron lesion?
Upper motor neuron lesion.
A patient suddenly develops facial asymmetry, difficulty speaking and weakness of the right upper and lower limbs while attending physiotherapy. The symptoms developed within the last few minutes. What should the physiotherapist suspect, and what should be the immediate priority?
Suspect an acute stroke; immediately activate emergency medical response/referral rather than continuing physiotherapy.
A child presents with delayed motor milestones, increased muscle tone in both lower limbs, scissoring gait and difficulty maintaining balance. The child has a history of complications around birth. What condition would you suspect?
Cerebral palsy, particularly spastic diplegia.
You are treating a patient who has significant pain during an exercise. The patient says, "I can tolerate it, just make me complete the repetitions." What should a responsible physiotherapist do?
Do not simply continue because the patient requests it. Stop or modify the exercise, assess the cause and severity of pain, and determine whether continuing is clinically appropriate.
During your clinical posting, you notice that another student has documented a treatment as "completed" even though the treatment was not actually performed. What should you do?
The issue should not be ignored. It should be addressed through the appropriate clinical supervisor/authority and accurate documentation should be maintained.
A 65-year-old patient presents with difficulty walking, reduced step length, impaired balance and generalized lower-limb weakness after prolonged hospitalization. The patient becomes fatigued quickly during exercise. As a physiotherapist, which three broad areas should be assessed before designing a rehabilitation programme?
A 60-year-old patient undergoing physiotherapy suddenly develops severe chest discomfort, sweating, shortness of breath and nausea during exercise. The patient appears pale and anxious. Would you continue the exercise at a lower intensity or stop treatment and initiate emergency management? Explain your decision.
Stop exercise immediately and initiate emergency management/referral. The symptoms are red flags suggestive of a possible acute cardiac event.
A patient following a stroke walks with the affected lower limb extended at the knee, the foot tends to remain plantarflexed, and the patient swings the leg outward in a semicircular pattern to clear the foot from the ground. Identify the likely gait deviations and explain why the patient may use this compensatory strategy.
Likely deviations include knee extension, equinus/plantarflexed foot and circumduction. The patient circumducts the limb to compensate for inadequate foot clearance during the swing phase.
You are a final-year physiotherapy student in a clinical posting. A patient asks you to perform a technique that you have only observed once and have never independently performed. What is the most professional response?
Be honest about your level of competence, do not perform the technique independently without appropriate supervision, and seek guidance from the clinical supervisor.
A patient sends you a friend request on social media and starts messaging you about their treatment outside the clinical setting. How should you maintain professional boundaries while ensuring that the patient still receives appropriate care?
Maintain professional boundaries, avoid inappropriate personal communication, and direct treatment-related communication through approved professional channels according to institutional policy.