Writing Homework Help

I’m trying to study for my Nursing course and I need some help to understand this question.

The immediate action is to perform a physical inspection to confirm the diagnosis. Conducting a physical inspection should reveal erythema around the affected area. In addition, I would also perform Cozen’s to evaluate and confirm the diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis. I would ask the patient to extend his wrist to see whether the extension triggers any pain. The is usually done by asking the patient to place their arm on a table with the palm facing upwards (Speers, Bhogal & Collins, 2018). The patient is then asked to try and raise their arm by bending their wrist against the resistance force. The pain, in this case, is worse when a patient squeezes objects or shakes hands. Additional diagnosis is conducting an ultrasound or MRI of the elbow.

The patient’s daughter might be expressing signs of distress because she is concerned about her father’s well-being. At this point, all that matters to her is seeing her dad feeling better. In addition, mentioning that the injury might have been job-related probably scared her off. Most work-related injuries are reported, and patients are compensated for medical treatment in a process that takes some time (Shaheen, Alarab & Ahmad, 2019). In this case, the daughter might have thought that I would send her father to his employer to claim before getting treatment. Besides, the daughter might have wanted to make her father’s situation seem serious so that he can get immediate help.

As mentioned earlier, lateral epicondylitis is mainly diagnosed by physical inspection. However, if the physical inspection fails to conclusive signs and symptoms, an ultrasound or MRI can be performed. Ultrasound is an accurate and safe medical imaging exam that uses sound waves to image damaged tissues and cells. The Ultrasound sound shows muscle strain and visualizes soft tissue abnormalities such as tendon tears, bone injury, tendinopathy, and muscle ligament injury (Wagle et al., 2020). MRI, on the other hand, produces detailed images of the human body without using X-rays. MRI confirms the patient has arthritis and visualizes the extent of damage to tendons (Wagle et al., 2020).

Medications treat tennis elbow, and surgery is only conducted in rare cases. The treatment goals are to reduce swelling and relieve the pain, allow the injured elbow to recover, and decrease stress on the elbow. Patients are recommended to apply ice to the injured elbow. Doctors can also prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Kubot et al., 2017). The patient’s elbow can also be strapped to reduce the stress on the injured elbow while moving the arm. Wrist splints can also be used at night to rest tendons and muscles. In addition, the doctor can prescribe a cortisone-type injection into the sore area. However, this treatment is recommended only for severe symptoms. The patient is also advised to partake in physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles and tendons around the injured elbow.

Most patients are always unsure or afraid of treatment. To help my patient feel comfortable taking the suggested treatment approach, I would express empathy and concern for treatment. First, I would assure the patient that the treatment approach is safe and has no side effects. Besides, I would communicate the urgency of medical treatment to my patient because he showed severe symptoms (Soucy & Hadjistavropoulos, 2017). Nonetheless, I would assure the daughter that his father will feel better after the treatment procedure.

References

Kubot, A., Grzegorzewski, A., Synder, M., Szymczak, W., & Kozłowski, P. (2017). Radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy and ultrasound therapy in the treatment of tennis elbow syndrome. Ortopedia, traumatologia, rehabilitacja, 19(5), 415-426.

Shaheen, H., Alarab, A., & Ahmad, M. S. (2019). Effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound and kinesio tape in treatment of tennis elbow. J Nov Physiother Rehabil, 3, 25-33.

Soucy, J. N., & Hadjistavropoulos, H. D. (2017). Treatment acceptability and preferences for managing severe health anxiety: Perceptions of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy among primary care patients. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 57, 14-24.

Speers, C. J., Bhogal, G. S., & Collins, R. (2018). Lateral elbow tendinosis: a review of diagnosis and management in general practice. British Journal of General Practice, 68(676), 548-549.