Free PLAB 2 Musculoskeletal stations
Musculoskeletal PLAB 2 stations cover joint and back pain, injuries and inflammatory conditions. They test focused history-taking, screening for serious causes such as cauda equina or septic arthritis, and clear management advice.
What PLAB 2 musculoskeletal stations cover
Musculoskeletal PLAB 2 stations cover joint and back pain, injuries and inflammatory conditions. They test focused history-taking, screening for serious causes such as cauda equina or septic arthritis, and clear management advice.
Topics you can practise in these stations include:
- New headache with blurred vision
- Aches, pain and stiffness
- Worried about steroid side effects (polymyalgia rheumatica)
- Painful, swollen hands
- Painful swollen big toe
- Explaining new discharge medicines after a fall
- Acute lower back pain
- Persistent low back pain
- Tingling and numbness in the hand
- Radial wrist pain
- Low back pain radiating down the leg
- Painful stiff shoulder
- Knee replacement deferred for weight loss
- Chest pain reproduced by movement
How to approach a musculoskeletal station
Characterise the pain and its impact, ask about trauma and inflammatory features, and screen for the serious causes below before advising on management.
The underlying structure is the same as any PLAB 2 station: greet and confirm identity, explore the patient's ideas, concerns and expectations early, take a focused history, screen for the red flags below, explain your thinking in plain English, and agree a shared plan with clear safety-netting. See the free PLAB 2 preparation guide for the full study plan.
Red flags to screen for in musculoskeletal stations
Examiners reward candidates who actively screen for what must not be missed. In musculoskeletal stations, the key red flags include:
- Cauda equina: saddle anaesthesia, bladder or bowel dysfunction
- A hot, swollen, painful joint (septic arthritis)
- Back pain with fever or weight loss
- New back pain with red flags in the over-50s (malignancy)
- Trauma with deformity or neurovascular compromise
Skills these stations test
The 20 musculoskeletal stations break down by skill type as:
- History and management 13
- History red flags 4
- Counselling 3
All 20 free musculoskeletal stations
Every station below is free. Click one to sit it as an eight-minute spoken consultation, then get your mark-scheme breakdown.
History and management 13
- New headache with blurred vision - Mr Charles Kershaw, 60 (suspected giant cell arteritis)
- Aches, pain and stiffness - Marion Vereker, 74
- Painful, swollen hands - Mrs Eleanor Yardley, 53
- Painful swollen big toe - Mr Patrick Allardyce, 40
- Acute lower back pain - Bill Coode, 37
- Persistent low back pain - Mr Rohan Verghese, 28
- Tingling and numbness in the hand - Mrs Priya Venkataraman, 49
- Radial wrist pain - Mrs Cordelia Aldous, 32
- Painful stiff shoulder - Mrs Yvonne Achterberg, 54
- Heel pain - Mrs Gwendolyn Aldous, 46
- Fingers changing colour in the cold - Katarina Aldous, 26
- Painful swollen knee and ankle - Mr Callum Hartley, 26
- Elbow pain on gripping - Thomasina Aldous, 44 (lateral epicondylitis)
History red flags 4
- Low back pain radiating down the leg - Mr Owen Ratcliffe, 41
- Chest pain reproduced by movement - Ms Celia Aldous, 29
- Acutely hot, swollen knee - Mabel Aldous, 54
- Neck pain after a car crash - Mr Owen Treharne, 34
Counselling 3
- Worried about steroid side effects (polymyalgia rheumatica) - Susan Warburton, 62
- Explaining new discharge medicines after a fall - Mr James Calderwood, 68
- Knee replacement deferred for weight loss - Mrs Pauline Ackroyd, 58
Practise other PLAB 2 specialties
- PLAB 2 Ethical / Communication stations (62)
- PLAB 2 Obstetrics & Gynaecology stations (52)
- PLAB 2 Paediatrics stations (42)
- PLAB 2 Neurology stations (34)
- PLAB 2 Psychiatry stations (31)
- PLAB 2 Cardiovascular stations (27)
- PLAB 2 Gastrointestinal stations (27)
- PLAB 2 Dermatology stations (25)
- PLAB 2 Endocrine stations (24)
- PLAB 2 Respiratory stations (20)
- PLAB 2 ENT stations (19)
- PLAB 2 Surgical stations (15)
- PLAB 2 Urology stations (15)
- PLAB 2 Medicine stations (14)
- PLAB 2 Genitourinary Medicine stations (12)
- PLAB 2 Infectious Diseases stations (11)
- PLAB 2 Haematology stations (9)
- PLAB 2 Ophthalmology stations (7)
- PLAB 2 Palliative / Pain Medicine stations (6)
- PLAB 2 Breast Surgery stations (2)
Frequently asked questions
What PLAB 2 musculoskeletal stations come up?
Plabity's 20 free PLAB 2 musculoskeletal stations include presentations such as new headache with blurred vision, aches, pain and stiffness, worried about steroid side effects (polymyalgia rheumatica), painful, swollen hands, painful swollen big toe, explaining new discharge medicines after a fall, acute lower back pain, persistent low back pain, tingling and numbness in the hand, radial wrist pain, low back pain radiating down the leg, painful stiff shoulder, knee replacement deferred for weight loss, chest pain reproduced by movement. Each runs as an eight-minute spoken consultation marked to the PLAB rubric.
Are these PLAB 2 musculoskeletal stations free?
Yes. All 20 are free to practise. You sign up with an email address, with no card required.
How are the stations marked?
Each station is marked across the three PLAB domains: data gathering, clinical management and interpersonal skills. You get a breakdown of every criterion with quoted evidence from your own consultation, in seconds.
Practise musculoskeletal stations free.
20 spoken musculoskeletal cubicles, marked to the PLAB rubric. No card, no plan.
Start practising free