Patient Questions — Diagnosis

Where does diagnosis begin?

First establish the symptom pattern, injury or overload mechanism and clinical findings. Then choose a test to answer a specific question. General principles are described in Diagnostic Tests; this page primarily indexes questions and answers.

Clinical examination

• What Does a Positive Orthopaedic Test Mean? (in Polish)
• Why Does an Orthopaedic Surgeon Measure Muscle Strength? (in Polish)
• Active and Passive Movement — Why Does an Orthopaedic Surgeon Assess Both? (in Polish)
• Why Does an Orthopaedic Surgeon Watch You Walk? (in Polish)
• Why Does an Orthopaedic Surgeon Examine More Than the Painful Area? (in Polish)
• Why Does an Orthopaedic Surgeon Ask Whether Pain Wakes You at Night? (in Polish)

X-rays

• Why Do Weight-Bearing X-rays Show More? (in Polish)
• The public FAQ also covers repeating older X-rays and what X-rays show about tendons and ligaments.

Ultrasound

• Why Is Ultrasound Performed During Movement? (in Polish)
• The FAQ also explains whether fasting is needed for a typical ultrasound and whether examinations can safely be repeated.

MRI and test results

MRI can be valuable, but not every pain requires MRI before consultation. Findings must be considered with symptoms and examination, particularly when the report describes changes also found in people without symptoms.

Frequently asked questions

The current collection of short answers is available under Frequently Asked Patient Questions — Orthopaedics (in Polish). Questions are organised and edited before publication; user submissions are not displayed publicly automatically.

For questions about a specific disease or injury, the answers below direct you to the most complete relevant resource.