Have you ever been confused by medical abbreviations written by doctors and therapists? Here is a list of common orthopedic abbreviations and definitions.
THA: total hip replacement
TKR: total knee replacement
MMT / LMT: meniscal tears
DDD: degenerative disc disease (spinal)
DJD: degenerative joint disease (peripheral joints)
FX: fracture
HNP: spinal disc herniation
RC: rotator cuff
ORIF: open reduction internal fixation (fracture)
ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL: ligaments of the knee
Bankhardt surgery: repair of the glenoid labrum of the shoulder
IF, MF, RF, SF: Index finger, middle finger, ring finger, small finger
CMC joint, basal joint: thumb joint
Lateral epicondylitis: tennis elbow
Medial epicondylitis: golfer’s elbow
CTS: carpal tunnel syndrome
MDI: multidirectional instability (shoulder)
RSD / CRPS: chronic regional pain syndrome
FMS: fibromyalgia (chronic diffuse pain)
Spondylolisthesis: Instability in vertebrae (placement), usually stabilized by cartilage (ask the referring source)
OCD: Osteochondritis Dissecans: detachment of cartilage off bone (common in the ankle)
GIRD: Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit (Loss of internal rotation of the shoulder joint)
TMJ: temporomandibular joint (jaw)
ATFL: Anterior talo-fibular ligament (commonly sprained lateral ankle ligament)
CFL: calcaneal fibular ligament (second most commonly sprained ankle ligament)
PFS: patellofemoral syndrome (knee cap not tracking correctly)
MCP: metacarpal phalangeal joint (base of the fingers)
FAI: femoroacetabular impingement (hip diagnosis involving irregular contact of the thigh bone in the hip socket)
Cindy says
January 26, 2015 at 5:41 pmGreat list! Do you know what “BIE exercises” or “BTE exercises” in hand therapy would be referring to? Thanks!
Dan Baumstark, MSPT, CHT says
January 27, 2015 at 3:07 pmCindy I do not think that I have heard of BTE for hand therapy. My guess is that it may have something to do with functional capacity type exercises, usually done by worker’s comp patients???
Mary Dickerson, OTR/L says
December 3, 2015 at 12:12 pmHi Cindy,
BTE refers to a large piece of equipment named Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment. It has been around over 30 years and has had many updates in its place. It is a work simulator and often used for ROM and strength in hand/upper extremity patients. It is also frequently used for work conditioning and FCEs.
Good Luck!
Mary