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MmMacNab’s Line: A x-ray indicator line used to evaluate facet joints. No longer considered to be a reliable indicator of facetjoint dysfunction. Magnuson’s Test: A test to evaluate a patient who overstates symptoms. See Malingerer. Maitland Technique: A manipulative physical therapy technique developed by Geoffrey Maitland which concentrates on establishing normal segmental spinal motion through the use of mobilization. Malingerer: A medical-legal term for one who consciously and willfully misrepresents or overstates illness or symptoms in order to escape work duties or school and/or for financial gain. True malingering is thought to be rare. See Secondary Gain. Malposition: A chiropractic term for a vertebra, which is out of normal position with respect to the vertebral segments above and below it. Malpractice: Misconduct in a professional capacity through negligence, carelessness, lack of skill, or malicious intent. Mandatory Arbitration: When a party files a lawsuit in Superior Court (trial court in the State of Washington) and claims damages of $50,000.00 or less, he/ she may first submit their case to arbitration before a full trial. Either party can appeal a mandatory arbitration award by going to trial. The risk to the appealing party is that if it does not obtain a better result at trial, it must pay the costs and attorney fees of the other party. Not all counties have mandatory arbitration. Manipulation: The general application of a force to a joint that takes it beyond its normal or restricted range of motion. This term applies generally to joint manipulations by manual therapy practitioners. Manual Muscle Testing: Physical exam testing used to grade muscle strength. The most common scale is graded 0-5. A 5/5 rating means the muscle that can hold a strong manual resistance, 4/5 against moderate resistance, 3/5 against gravity, 2/5 cannot overcome the force of gravity, 0/5 is a muscle absent the ability to resist. Massage Therapy: Deep or light pressure applied to the musculoskeletal system for the purpose of muscle relaxation, myofascial release, increasing joint function, increasing lymphatic drainage, realigning scar tissue, or increasing local blood flow. Mastoid Process: The rear portion of the temporal bone on each side of the head behind the ear. Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI): A medical-legal term used in insurance claims to describe a point in time when the patient’s condition will no longer improve with or without further healthcare treatment. Maximum Voluntary Effort: A determination made during physical capacity evaluation testing whether a patient is giving his/her true maximum effort. Medial Branch: A network of nerves serving the facet joints of the spine. Medial Branch Neurotomy: A surgical technique whereby the medial branch nerve supply to the facet joints is cut by use of a radio frequency current to produce small, well-localized, heat lesions. Also called Medial Branch Rhizotomy. See Facet Neurotomy. Median Nerve: One of the nerves of the medial branch. It innervates the lateral aspect of the forearm and hand including thumb, 1st and 2nd fingers. It is the nerve compressed by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Mediation: A procedure by which an impartial third person meets with all the parties and attempts, in an informal setting, to find common ground so that a compromise can be reached to settle the claim or complaint. Medicaid OR Medical Assistance: A joint federal and state program that provides health care for people with very limited income and resources. Every state has different rules about who qualifies for Medicaid and what they can receive. In many states people who qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) automatically qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid Waiver OR Home and Community-Based Services Waiver, (Also called a 1915C(B) Waiver): An optional Medicaid program that allows the state to fund services in the community for a limited group of people who would normally have to go to an institution to get these services covered. Generally, when Medicaid covers a service, it must cover the service on an equal basis for everyone in the state with similar needs. A waiver allows the state to make an exception. For example, states can cover a service only for people with certain disabilities, limit coverage to certain cities or regions of the state, limit coverage to only 10 people even if 50 people need the service, limit the amount of money it will spend on any one person receiving waiver services, and waive income rules to allow more people to be eligible. For information on your state’s Medicaid waivers go to: www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/waivers or www.hcbs.org Medicaid Buy-In: A program that allows working people with disabilities who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but have high medical expenses, to buy Medicaid coverage. Not all states allow a Medicaid buy-in and each state sets its own rules for eligibility. For information on whether your state offers this go to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/TWWIA/07_BuyIn.asp Medicare: The national health insurance program to which all Social Security recipients who are either over 65 years of age or permanently disabled are entitled. Medicare benefits should be the same no matter what state you live in. Coverage under Medicare is similar to that provided by private insurance companies. It pays a portion of the cost of medical care and usually charges a copayment or deductible. Part of the program is paid for with payroll taxes paid into Social Security by employers and employees. Another part of the Medicare program is paid for by monthly payments from people receiving its benefits. Memory: The process of perceiving events, organizing and storing representations of the events and recalling these representations to consciousness at a later time. Memory/Learning: Acquisition of new information determined by the extent to which an individual benefits from repetition, rehearsal, or practice. For example, a person who learns quickly will likely remember an entire set of instructions after hearing them a single time. A person with severely-impaired learning ability will show little gain in recall after numerous repetitions. Learning and memory are interdependent. If immediate memory is poor, learning will be poor because only a portion of the information will be available for rehearsal/ repetition. It is important to note that persons may have intact learning ability, but poor delayed memory. For example, a person with brain injury may learn a set of instructions after several repetitions, but forget them the next day. Migraine Headache: A headache caused by excessive dilation of the arteries in the brain. Symptoms include severe head pain, sensitivity to light (photophobia), occasionally sensitivity to smells, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and/or visual disturbances.See Vascular Headache. Military Neck: A cervical spine that has a straightened rather than the normal lordotic curve. Minor: A person who is under the age of legal competence. In Washington, a person less than eighteen (18) years old. Mistrial: Trial which is terminated before its normal conclusion. The judge may declare a mistrial because of some extraordinary event, prejudicial error that cannot be corrected, or because of a hung jury. Mitigate: To diminish or reduce. An injured party has the duty to mitigate his/her damages, including pain and suffering, by taking reasonable steps to get better. Mobility: Ability of an individual to move within, and interact with, the environment, usually involving utilization of public and/or private transportation, wheelchairs or ambulation. Mobilization: Low-amplitude, low-velocity forces, which are used to restore joint function. It is of common practice among manual therapists, osteopaths, and chiropractors. There are different grades and techniques of mobilization. Money Management: Ability to distinguish the different denominations of money, count money, make change, budget. More Probable Than Not: A medical-legal term used to imply a likelihood of greater than 50 percent. Motion: A formal written request, submitted by a party to a court on a specific issue, for consideration and resolution. Motion In Limine: A motion requesting the court to exclude or limit certain types of documentary evidence and/or testimony which are not relevant to the issues or are unfairly prejudicial. Most commonly done prior to commencement of the trial. Motion Palpation: A manual treatment term, which refers to assessing by touch the spinal motion segments while moving the patient through specific maneuvers. It is used to check relative motion between two adjacent vertebral segments. Motion Restriction: An osteopathic, chiropractic, or manual treatment term referring to the direction a spinal segment or a joint cannot move. Motion Segment: A unit made up of two adjacent vertebrae ,which move against one another and the soft tissue which connects them. Motor: Pertaining to movement. Motor Control: Regulation of the timing and amount of contraction of muscles of the body to produce smooth and coordinated movement. The regulation is carried out by operation of the nervous system. Motor Deficit: A term that describes loss of muscle strength in a particular area due to impairment of nerve conduction. Motor Planning: Action formulated in the mind before attempting to perform. Movement Dysfunction or Restriction: An osteopathic, chiropractic, or manual treatment term in which the dysfunction or restriction refers to the direction in which a spinal motion segment or joint will not move.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS): A central nervous system disorder which commonly affects the brain stem, brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, characterized by white matter lesions (or sclerotic changes), resulting in wasting away of these nervous system parts. Muscle Contraction Headache: A headache caused by myofascial pain and spasming of the cervical muscles. Muscle Spasm: Involuntary contraction of muscle or muscle guarding to prevent its use in an attempt to protect an injured area. Also known as Muscular Splinting. Muscular Splinting: Increased local muscle tone or spasm due to involuntary muscle contraction. Often a protective response to injury or pain. Muscle Stimulation: An electrical application to decrease pain and spasm of the muscles. Often used by physical therapists. Myalgia: Pain of the muscles. Myelogram: The injection of a radiographic contrast liquid into the subarachnoid space through a space through a lumbar puncture. This effectively outlines the spinal cord and spinal nerves on an x-ray. Myelopathy: Dysfunction of the spinal cord. Myofascial: Referring to the muscles and fascia. Myofascial Pain: Pain coming from muscles and fascia. Myofascial Pain Syndrome: Pain coming from the muscles and fascia which in turn, is spread out to other areas of the body. Myofascial Release: Deep tissue massage for the purpose of relaxing and lengthening tight and restricted muscle and connective tissues. Myofascial Trigger Point: Classically, a taut palpable band in muscle that is painful to touch and refers pain to an adjacent body area.See Trigger Point. Myofascitis: An inflammation of the muscles and fascia covering the muscles. See Myofascial Pain. Myofibrosis: Infiltration of muscle tissue by scar tissue often leading to inflammation. Myositis:Inflammation within the muscles. Myotherapy: The application of progressively stronger pressure on a trigger point. This pressure causes reduced blood flow within that portion of the muscle followed by increased blood flow response on the release of pressure. |
MRI: Abbreviation for Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
An imaging technique, which uses magnetic fields to obtain detailed pictures
of both soft tissue and bony anatomy.