Upper Limb MSK at the Front Door
This focused MSK module is designed for clinicians working in urgent care, emergency care, primary care, ambulance, minor injuries and front-door assessment settings.
Upper limb injuries are common, but they are also easy to underestimate. A painful wrist, swollen elbow, shoulder injury or “simple” hand trauma can hide important diagnoses that affect long-term function if missed.
The aim of this module is to make upper limb MSK assessment feel more structured, more clinically useful and safer. Rather than relying on X-rays alone, the course focuses on mechanism, examination, red flags, imaging decisions, documentation and safety-netting.
You will get access to a practical CPD video, supported by a downloadable module guide.
The guide includes dedicated pages on common upper limb injuries, with X-ray examples, key clinical findings, front-door management points and must-not-miss complications.
By the end of the module, you should feel more confident assessing upper limb presentations, recognising important injuries, escalating appropriately and explaining clear return advice to patients.
This course includes:
- A practical CPD video
- A structured front-door assessment approach
- LOOK-FEEL-MOVE for upper limb presentations
- Key clinical features and examination findings
- Dedicated injury pages with X-rays and teaching notes
- Commonly missed injuries and red flags
- Practical decision-making prompts
- Safety-netting and documentation points
- A downloadable module guide
Focus Points
- Shoulder dislocation, ACJ injury, clavicle fracture and rotator cuff tears
- Elbow injuries including radial head fracture, pulled elbow, dislocation and supracondylar fracture
- Wrist injuries including scaphoid and distal radius fractures
- Hand injuries including boxer’s fracture, Bennett’s fracture, mallet finger and fight bites
- Neurovascular complications and compartment syndrome
- When to image, when to splint, when to refer and when to escalate
This module is part of the MSK at the Front Door Bundle, alongside:
- Lower Limb MSK at the Front Door
- Back & Spine MSK at the Front Door
You can purchase this course as a standalone module, or get the full MSK bundle for better value and cover upper limb, lower limb, back pain, red flags, Ottawa Rules and must-not-miss MSK injuries in one practical CPD package.
Image: Boxers fracture-lateral xray.JPG, by Roberto J. Galindo, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted for teaching by Front Door Clinical Education.
Course curriculum
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1Welcome and How to Use this Module
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2Learning Materials
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3Course Close