Neurological diseases are among the most common among the adult population. Many are familiar with pain in the neck, shoulder blades, lower back or sacrum. All this is the result of excessive workload, poor posture, complications of other diseases.
Any such pathology can lead to a deterioration in general well-being, the development of pain. Therefore, it is so important to timely and correctly identify the cause of the ailment and begin to take measures to eliminate it.
So, one of the methods of early and reliable diagnosis is the procedure for determining the Wasserman symptom.
Symptom concept
The second name is Matskevich's symptom. This is a condition in which there is a painful sensation in the thigh, groin and lower leg of a person lying on his stomach, if he lifts his leg up.
This is due to the fact that in pathology there is tension and irritation of the nerve passing through the upper thigh. Hence the pain.
The German scientist Wasserman was the first to describe this state. The symptom was simultaneously studied by a Russian doctor with the surname Matskevich. Howevera German was the first to publish his works.
Relevance of the use of the Wassermann symptom in neurology
In modern medicine, this method is used much less frequently than before. The fact is that quite often the results are false positive or false negative. Despite this, doctors of the old school are able to accurately distinguish the norm from the pathology and often use this method.
What does the symptom say?
If a person feels pain during this action, then we can consider the result of determining the symptom of Wasserman-Matskevich positive. This allows us to suspect the development of any of the following pathologies in him:
- Sciatica in the sacrum. This is a disease in which damage to the spinal cord occurs, as well as damage to the femoral nerve.
- Wassermann's symptom is especially noticeable in the presence of a hernia in the lumbar region.
- Myositis. In this condition, there is an increase in muscle tone and muscle contraction.
- Bechterew's disease is a pathology in which the spine is damaged.
- In addition, the symptom of tension can develop with a pathological condition such as a herniated disc.
- Presence of a tumor in the sacrum.
- Damage to articular tissue.
- The presence of inflammation or deformity in the muscular skeleton.
Symptoms for which a doctor may perform this test
- The patient complains of pain in the lumbar region.
- The patient claims to feel pain, tingling in the buttocks, thighs and legs.
- Another symptom may be reduced skin sensitivity in these areas.
- "Shooting" in the area of the spine with a sharp change in position.
Doctor's actions
In addition to the symptom of Wassermann's tension, there are many different methods for examining a patient for damage to nerve endings. It is very important for the doctor and his patient that the first of them can choose the right tactics of action. To do this, you need to understand what kind of disease the patient has.
Wasserman's symptom is applied according to a specially developed algorithm. All pathological signs should be divided into 4 groups:
- Compression.
- Muscular tonic.
- Liquorodynamic.
- Compression-irritative.
This separation of symptoms makes it possible to omit the definition of this feature in patients who do not complain of nerve entrapment at all.
- When a person complains of very severe pain in the lower back, buttocks, hips, you should check if he has a hernia or protrusion. If there are no such pathologies, then it is better to use the diagnosis of the symptoms of Goluflam and Mennel.
- In the presence of protrusion, the definition of Wassermann's symptom should be applied.
- In the presence of a hernia, it is better to use the symptoms of Mutar-Martin and Minor-1.
- In the event that the patient has several hernias and protrusions, thenuse the Mutar-Martin symptom.
- If the pain syndrome increases when the torso is tilted forward, then the Mennel and Lassegue technique should be used. Wasserman's symptom in this case will not give a reliable result.
It should be noted that only a qualified doctor can use these techniques, otherwise the patient's condition may worsen and even the development of combat shock. Indeed, in the region of the back and lower back there is a huge number of nerves, entire plexuses. And in the presence of inflammation here, every wrong movement can lead to intense pain.
Survey algorithm
It is extremely important to do the procedure as correctly as possible. This will avoid the occurrence of a false positive or false negative result. With the right actions, a reliable result is obtained in more than 80% of cases.
- The patient is positioned prone down on a hard, flat surface, without a pillow.
- Head should lie on its side, arms at your sides, shoulders pressed.
- The patient should relax the whole body as much as possible.
- After that, the neurologist smoothly raises the lower limb straightened, not bent at the knee.
- The patient at this time listens to his feelings and reports if he feels even the slightest discomfort.
- Based on the results of examinations, the doctor concludes that the patient has a neurological disease.
- As a rule, pain is especially intense in the groin and frontthigh parts. The fact is that it is here that the maximum tension of the nerve occurs. The result is positive if the patient feels at least a little pronounced pain.
Treatment
As a rule, the treatment of any of the neurological diseases requires a comprehensive solution to the problem. This means that for effective therapy, it is necessary to use not only drugs, but also physiological procedures.
Drug therapy must necessarily include the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as an analgesic component. This includes drugs such as Diclofenac, Ibuprofen.
With a more pronounced pain syndrome, the patient is shown the use of "Nimesulide", "Dexketoprofen", "Meloxicam" and so on. Dosages and treatment regimens are prescribed by the doctor individually for each patient and depend on the severity of symptoms.
Often the therapy regimen includes two steps:
- First use of the drug in injections - to quickly stop the problem.
- Maintaining well-being with oral medications.
Another medicinal component, the appointment of which is often mandatory - muscle relaxants. For example, Mydocalm is a drug based on tolperisone. The substance eliminates inflammation, damage in the nerve fiber. It has an injectable release form and a tablet.
It is useful to prescribe vitamins of group B to the patient. As a rule, the drug of choice in this case becomes Compligam B or Kombilipen. The preparations include vitamins B1, B6, B12 and lidocaine as an analgesic component. With such a powerful composition, the medicine effectively nourishes the nervous system and supports its he althy functioning.
Conclusion
Determination of the Wassermann symptom is a quick and easy way to determine the condition of a patient with complaints of pain of a particular neurological pathology. The main thing that the doctor must do is to correctly diagnose and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
