Knee Injury – History

In this lesson, we learn questions for a patient who injured their knee while skiing.
LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE

We ask about the following: mechanism of injury, ability to bear weight after the accident, stability of the joint, and any other injuries suffered, with a focus on head injury. 

Table of Contents

Mechanism of Injury

  • Lesión de Rodilla 1:20
  • Se le zafó el esquí 2:18
  • Vocabulario de esquí 3:40

Stability of the Joint, Ability to Bear Weight

  • Descender la montaña 4:35
  • Estabilidad de rodilla 6:48

Other Injuries Suffered

  • Se lesionó algo más  8:48
  • Se golpeó la cabeza 10:56
  • Anticoagulantes 13:07

Show Notes

Lesión de Rodilla

1:20

Lesionar, herir
To injure

¿Cómo se lesionó la rodilla?
How did you injure your knee?

To express an action that occurs on one’s own body (e.g. breaking a bone, injuring a joint, washing your hands), we use a reflexive verb with a definite article (el,la) before the part of the body.

Se le zafó el esquí 

2:18

¿Se le zafó / desprendió / salió el esquí?
¿Did your ski come off?

In the above question, we use the ACCIDENTAL SE, where the ski is the subject of the verb describing the accidente (SE ZAFÓ EL ESQUÍ), and LE refers to the patient, to whom the accident occurred. 

Zafarse, desprenderse, salirse
To come off

Vocabulario de esquí

3:40

La estación de esquí
Ski resort

El teleférico
Chairlift

La patrulla de esquí (EL EQUIPO)
The ski patrol

El patrullero de esquí, la patrullera de esquí (LA PERSONA)
The ski patroller

Descender la montaña

4:35

 ¿Pudo esquiar montaña abajo después?
Were you able to ski down the mountain afterwards?

A general term to express “downhill” is CUESTA ABAJO. You can use MONTAÑA ABAJO when asking about going down a mountain. 
We use the PRETERITE here because we are asking about a DISCRETE ACTION, something that was or was not completed. For this same reason, we also use the preterite in the upcoming examples.

 ¿O tuvo que bajar / descender en el teleférico?
Did you have to go down in the chairlift?

¿Lo/la bajó el patrullero de esquí?
Did the ski patroller bring you down?

¿Le bajó la patrulla de esquí?
Did the ski patrol bring you down?

We use LE to address a non-binary person.

Estabilidad de rodilla

6:48

¿Intentó ponerse de pie / pararse / levantarse?
Did you try to stand?

Ponerse de pie, pararse, levantarse
To stand up, to get up

PARARSE is commonly used to say, “to stand up” in Latin America, but not in Spain. 

¿Pudo ponerse de pie / pararse / levantarse?
Were you able to stand up?

¿Siente la rodilla estable?
Does your knee feel stable?

¿Siente la rodilla estable? >> Literal translation: "Do you feel the knee stable?"

¿Siente la rodilla inestable?
Does your knee feel unstable?

Se lesionó algo más 

8:48

¿Se lesionó algo más?
Did you injure anything else?

Algo más
Anything else

¿Siente entumecimiento u hormigueo (en alguna parte)?
Do you have numbness or tingling?

El entumecimiento, adormecimiento
Numbness

El hormigueo
Tingling 

Remember to change O to U when the sound that follows O is O as well.

Se golpeó la cabeza

10:56

¿Se golpeó la cabeza?
Did you hit your head?

Golpearse  = to hit (something on one’s own body)

¿Tiene confusión?
Do you have confusion?

¿Tiene dolor de cabeza?
Do you have a headache?

¿Tiene vómito(s)?
Are you vomiting?

¿Tiene náuseas y vómitos?
Are you nauseated? Have you been vomiting?

Aturdido / aturdida
Dazed, stunned

¿Se siente aturdido/a?
Do you feel you are in a daze?

Anticoagulantes

13:07

¿Está tomando algún anticoagulante? (más común)
¿Está tomando algún diluyente de sangre?
Are you taking a blood thinner?

This module is based on phrases and questions suggested by one of our members, an ER doc named Laila Powers. !Gracias a Laila! Y gracias a mis profesores de español, Elizabet Cortez de Guatemala y Gloria Becerril de México, who helped me to translate and record the questions and phrases in Spanish. 


Resources

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