How to examine the spine
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
The spine exam pairs a look at the back with a neuro exam of the legs.
Step by step
Look
Posture, curves, scoliosis, muscle spasm. [1]
Feel
Bones and muscles; tenderness over a vertebra is a concern after trauma or with fever. [1]
Move
Bend forward, back, sideways, twist. [1]
Straight leg raise
Lift the straight leg: pain down the leg between 30 and 70 degrees suggests a nerve root. [1]
Neuro
Leg strength, reflexes, sensation; saddle sensation and bladder if red flags. [2]
Other causes
Hips, abdomen, pulses (aortic aneurysm). [2]
Common errors
- Skipping the neuro exam.
- Missing the hip.
- Not asking about the bladder.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- Pressure injury in a wheelchair user
- Opioid withdrawal after surgery
- Transfusion reaction
- Spine surgery with saturated dressing
- Abdominal pain, ruptured aortic aneurysm
- Back pain with red flags
22 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)
- NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.