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Which of the following is MOST likely an indication for elective orthopedic surgery?

A patient was playing basketball and injured the right knee.  The injury resulted in a tear to the meniscus, but the chart does not indicate which part of the meniscus was injured.  A PTA should know that tears are more commonly seen in which meniscus of the knee?

A PTA is working in an acute care hospital with an 80 year old patient who fell down the stairs to his basement and fractured his tibia.  The fracture was surgically stabilized 3 days ago.  He has been doing fairly well with his rehabilitation but the PT and PTA have expressed concern that the patient may not be safe to return home yet due to unsafe gait and deconditioning.  The patient lives alone in a two-story house.  Of the following, which is LEAST appropriate as a discharge option for this patient?

A 42 year-old previously healthy male falls while hiking and sustains a closed, displaced fracture of the femur just proximal to the adductor tubercle.  He is transported to the nearest Level III trauma center and evaluated in the emergency room by an orthopedic surgeon who is a trauma specialist.  The surgeon decides to treat the fracture with open reduction and internal fixation.  Which of the following was MOST likely an indication for the surgical treatment of the fracture?

A PTA is working with a patient with lumbar HNP (posterolateral).  The PTA knows that patients with this type of HNP will often respond very well to repetitive lumbar extension exercises. Which of the following might indicate the patient is not responding appropriately to these exercises?

Patients with severe spinal stenosis and/or degenerative arthritis of the spine usually find that their symptoms worsen with ___________ and improve once they ___________.

A PTA is observing gait in a patient who recently had right minimally-invasive total hip arthroplasty.  Full weight bearing is allowed one week after the surgery.  The PTA observes the right foot slaps the ground at initial contact.  The most common cause of this problem is:

A patient with rotator cuff tendinitis is working on arm strengthening activities in a PT clinic using a hand-held weight.  Which muscle would she most likely contract eccentrically to lower her arm/shoulder from a 90 degree flexed position (in a sitting position)?

A 75 year-old man is observed to have limited hip extension range of motion bilaterally with gait at normal walking speed. The hip flexors are determined to be tight bilaterally.  What effect will this range of motion limitation MOST likely have on his step length?

A physical therapist assistant is treating a patient who reports a history of severe carpal tunnel syndrome.  Of the following signs or symptoms, which would NOT be consistent with this diagnosis?