Physical Therapy – Practice Board Questions (NPTE Exam Review, Clinical Reasoning & Answer
Explanations)
You are about to review the imaging studies of a patient with a left L5 neural compression
secondary to lumbar spondylosis without discal herniation or bulging. Which of the following
structures do you expect to see compressing the nerve root in the imaging studies?
A: Anterior longitudinal ligament
B: Posterior longitudinal ligament
C: Ligamentum flavum
D: Interspinous ligament - correct answer ✔✔C: Ligamentum flavum
Left upper extremity motor assessment of a patient with a right cerebral vascular accident
(RCVA) reveals the patient's ability to move the upper extremity voluntarily when asked.
However, the patient is unable to move out of an abnormal synergistic pattern to demonstrate
any isolated movement of the left upper extremity. This patient's Brunnstrom's Stage of Motor
Recovery for the left upper extremity is:
A: Stage 1
B: Stage 2
C: Stage 3
D: Stage 4 - correct answer ✔✔C: stage 3
Which of the following muscles is innervated by the ulnar nerve?
A: Abductor pollicis brevis
B: Flexor pollicis longus
C: Medial heads of flexor digitorum profundus
D: Pronator quadratus - correct answer ✔✔C: medial heads of flexor digitorum profundus
The use of sit-to-stand practice as a method of strengthening the lower extremities is an
example of what type of intervention?
,A: Knowledge of performance
B: Results-based
C: Task-oriented
D: Impairment-based - correct answer ✔✔C: task-oriented
You are debating whether to use a prone stander with a child diagnosed with spastic cerebral
palsy. For a prone stander to be appropriate, the child would have to do all of the following,
EXCEPT:
A: Active trunk extension
B: Active trunk flexion
C: Weight-bear when standing or kneeling
D: Being able to use the upper extremities for weight-bearing or other activities - correct answer
✔✔B: active trunk flexion
A patient presents to your clinic with a diagnosis of a thoracodorsal nerve injury. Which of the
following objective findings would be consistent with this injury?
A: Shoulder extension weakness
B: Shoulder external rotation weakness
C: Shoulder flexion weakness
D: Shoulder abduction weakness - correct answer ✔✔A: shoulder extension weakness
According to a patient's chart, the patient awoke and was very unsteady on his feet, losing his
balance to the right. Also, there is horizontal nystagmus and loss of conjugate gaze on the right
with an impaired sensation of the contralateral trunk, face, and limbs. Your hypothesis for a
possible diagnosis is:
A: Anterior inferior cerebellar artery syndrome
B: Superior cerebellar artery syndrome
C: Lateral medullary syndrome
, D: Medial medullary syndrome - correct answer ✔✔B: superior cerebellar artery syndrome
You have been asked to perform an NCV test on a patient that is being evaluated for a possible
carpal tunnel syndrome. Which of the following findings would BEST support the diagnosis?
A: Increased latency at the carpal tunnel
B: Increased latency at the forearm
C: Decreased latency at the carpal tunnel
D: Decreased latency at the elbow - correct answer ✔✔A: increased latency at the carpal tunnel
A patient complains of a burning sensation in the anterolateral aspect of the thigh. Dysfunction
of which nerve could lead to these symptoms?
A: Ilioinguinal
B: Genitofemoral
C: Lateral (femoral) cutaneous nerve of the thigh
D: Obturator - correct answer ✔✔C: lateral (femoral) cutaneous nerve of the thigh
You are obtaining a subjective history from a new patient diagnosed with right-side hemiplegia.
You note that although the patient is able to understand spoken language, he is unable to speak
well as most of his words are incomprehensible, and he has difficulty in providing names for
everyday objects. Your hypothesis for a possible diagnosis is:
A: Cerebellar aphasia
B: Broca's aphasia
C: Global aphasia
D: Wernicke's aphasia - correct answer ✔✔B: Broca's aphasia
If a patient with BPPV is taking a vestibular suppressant medication such as meclizine, the
evidence suggests that the physical therapist should:
Explanations)
You are about to review the imaging studies of a patient with a left L5 neural compression
secondary to lumbar spondylosis without discal herniation or bulging. Which of the following
structures do you expect to see compressing the nerve root in the imaging studies?
A: Anterior longitudinal ligament
B: Posterior longitudinal ligament
C: Ligamentum flavum
D: Interspinous ligament - correct answer ✔✔C: Ligamentum flavum
Left upper extremity motor assessment of a patient with a right cerebral vascular accident
(RCVA) reveals the patient's ability to move the upper extremity voluntarily when asked.
However, the patient is unable to move out of an abnormal synergistic pattern to demonstrate
any isolated movement of the left upper extremity. This patient's Brunnstrom's Stage of Motor
Recovery for the left upper extremity is:
A: Stage 1
B: Stage 2
C: Stage 3
D: Stage 4 - correct answer ✔✔C: stage 3
Which of the following muscles is innervated by the ulnar nerve?
A: Abductor pollicis brevis
B: Flexor pollicis longus
C: Medial heads of flexor digitorum profundus
D: Pronator quadratus - correct answer ✔✔C: medial heads of flexor digitorum profundus
The use of sit-to-stand practice as a method of strengthening the lower extremities is an
example of what type of intervention?
,A: Knowledge of performance
B: Results-based
C: Task-oriented
D: Impairment-based - correct answer ✔✔C: task-oriented
You are debating whether to use a prone stander with a child diagnosed with spastic cerebral
palsy. For a prone stander to be appropriate, the child would have to do all of the following,
EXCEPT:
A: Active trunk extension
B: Active trunk flexion
C: Weight-bear when standing or kneeling
D: Being able to use the upper extremities for weight-bearing or other activities - correct answer
✔✔B: active trunk flexion
A patient presents to your clinic with a diagnosis of a thoracodorsal nerve injury. Which of the
following objective findings would be consistent with this injury?
A: Shoulder extension weakness
B: Shoulder external rotation weakness
C: Shoulder flexion weakness
D: Shoulder abduction weakness - correct answer ✔✔A: shoulder extension weakness
According to a patient's chart, the patient awoke and was very unsteady on his feet, losing his
balance to the right. Also, there is horizontal nystagmus and loss of conjugate gaze on the right
with an impaired sensation of the contralateral trunk, face, and limbs. Your hypothesis for a
possible diagnosis is:
A: Anterior inferior cerebellar artery syndrome
B: Superior cerebellar artery syndrome
C: Lateral medullary syndrome
, D: Medial medullary syndrome - correct answer ✔✔B: superior cerebellar artery syndrome
You have been asked to perform an NCV test on a patient that is being evaluated for a possible
carpal tunnel syndrome. Which of the following findings would BEST support the diagnosis?
A: Increased latency at the carpal tunnel
B: Increased latency at the forearm
C: Decreased latency at the carpal tunnel
D: Decreased latency at the elbow - correct answer ✔✔A: increased latency at the carpal tunnel
A patient complains of a burning sensation in the anterolateral aspect of the thigh. Dysfunction
of which nerve could lead to these symptoms?
A: Ilioinguinal
B: Genitofemoral
C: Lateral (femoral) cutaneous nerve of the thigh
D: Obturator - correct answer ✔✔C: lateral (femoral) cutaneous nerve of the thigh
You are obtaining a subjective history from a new patient diagnosed with right-side hemiplegia.
You note that although the patient is able to understand spoken language, he is unable to speak
well as most of his words are incomprehensible, and he has difficulty in providing names for
everyday objects. Your hypothesis for a possible diagnosis is:
A: Cerebellar aphasia
B: Broca's aphasia
C: Global aphasia
D: Wernicke's aphasia - correct answer ✔✔B: Broca's aphasia
If a patient with BPPV is taking a vestibular suppressant medication such as meclizine, the
evidence suggests that the physical therapist should:
