A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, body weight, body height; furthermore:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Skin, mucous membranes and sclerae (white part of the eye).
- Gait pattern [muscular discomfort, jumping joint pain].
- Abdomen (abdomen)
- Shape of the abdomen?
- Skin color? Skin texture?
- Efflorescences (skin changes)?
- Pulsations? Bowel movements?
- Visible vessels?
- Scars? Hernias (fractures)?
- Auscultation (listening) of the heart.
- Auscultation of the lungs
- Palpation (palpation) of the abdomen (tenderness?, knocking pain?, coughing pain?, defensive tension?, hernial orifices?, kidney bearing knocking pain?)
- Palpation of vertebral bodies, tendons, ligaments; musculature (tone, tenderness, contractures of paraverebral musculature); soft tissue swelling; tenderness (localization! ; restricted mobility (spinal movement restrictions); “tapping signs” (testing painfulness of spinous processes, transverse processes, and costotransverse joints (vertebral-rib joints) and back muscles); illiosacral joints (sacroiliac joint) (pressure and tapping pain?; compression pain, anterior, lateral or saggital; hyper- or hypomobility?
- Palpation of prominent bone points, tendons, ligaments; musculature; joint (joint effusion?); soft tissue swelling; tenderness (localization!).
- Inspection (viewing).
- ENT medical examination – for rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal mucosa), sinusitis (sinusitis).
- Neurological examination – including reflex testing, verification of motor function, sensitivity.
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
