My Orthopedic Glossary

        I have been studying in Orthosis and Prosthesis for 1 year at Collège Montmorency. This glossary is useful for injured people, or for a person who suffer of an handicap. It is also really relevant for people who would like to study in the same program as me. There is some popular disease definitions, such as the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis, and there is also some description of orthopedic devices, such as foot orthotics. Learning the definition of those words will give you a better idea of what is my field of study. 

Orthosis 

            Orthosis is an orthopedic device that is used to support, limit, control (or else) an existing articulation or limb, such as wrist, knee, ankle and ankle.

Prosthesis

            A Prosthesis is the replacement of an amputated limb or a congenital malformation. Pretty expensive and needs a lot of time. 

Arthritis

            Arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory reaction that causes the articulation to self-destruct. It causes pain and deformation of the articulation. It is often due to hereditary. 

Osteoarthritis

            However, Osteoarthritis is a premature wear that causes inflammation and pain, often due to overuse. The cartilage between the two bones being partially destroyed by overuse, the bones rub against each other.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

            This syndrome is an inflammation inside of the wrist (palmar side), where all ligaments and nerves pass and get stuck due to overuse or repetitive movements of the wrist. 

Flat Foot

           It is a pathology where the plantar arches are collapsed. This misalign the foot, ankle and knee causing pain and malfunction of the joints. We use foot orthotics with fake arches in it, to realign the foot. 

Foot Orthotics

            Foot orthotics are small soles (that goes into your shoes) that have some deformation to realign the foot, ankle, or knee. It is the most cheaper and common orthosis.

Frontal Plane

            In my field of study, we use different types of view to talk about where one movement or articulation is moving. The first one is the frontal view. It is a vertical plane used when we talk about the front and the back of the body (anterior and posterior sides of the frontal view). In other words, it is the plane where you can see the face (anterior) and the back of the head (posterior). 

Sagittal Plane

            This view is from the both sides of the body. We have the left and right side. It is another vertical plane in which you could see the left side or the right side. 

Transverse Plane

            The last view is an horizontal view in which you see the upper view of the body. It is like if you were on a chair and looking at the top of the head of the person. 

Orthopedic Devices 

            This includes all orthosis and all prosthesis. Even a wheel chair is something we are working with and that is taking part of the orthopedic devices. 

Inflammation

               It is an autoimmune reaction of the body due to an outside threat (injury, infection, allergy, etc...). Inflammation shows 5 symptoms: pain, redness, heat, stiffness and edema. 

Negative

           In the process of getting an orthosis, one of the first tests is to take a prints of the segment we need (for example, the arm). We use plaster strips to mold perfectly the segment. When the plaster is rigid, we take it off. 

Positive

           After the negative is done, we put liquid plaster in it and wait until it is dry. After that, we have the exact same segment (the exact same arm). That is called the positive. Now we can modify it for whatever reason, and finally mold plastic shell to make the perfect custom orthosis that will perfectly fit on our patient. 

Force Vectors

            That plastic shell we made before, will induce multiple force vectors on the segment. That is a little bit of biomechanics, but the goal of those forces is to help the patient for the reason he came to us (correction needed in the prescription). 

Range of Motion

            It is the highest measurable degree we can have with one joint (for example, 150 degree of knee flexion).

Goniometer

            This is a measuring instrument that measure the range of motion of an joint. 

Paying Agent

            When it is time to have an orthopedic device, it is really expensive. This y why there is multiple of paying agent that can help you paying those expensive (but necessary) devices : RAMQ (Régime d'assurance maladie du Québec), Private insurance, SAAQ (société assurance automobile du Québec), CNESST (Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) other foundations (for example : fondation des amputés de guerre), and more... 

Prescription 

            We always need a prescription to create an orthopedic device. It is what the doctor demand us to make for the patient. We absolutely need it to declare it to the paying agent (so that the client can be compensated).