Physical therapy helps restore strength, movement, and function when people are injured or have disabilities. A physical therapy team works to reduce pain, prevent deformity, and promote healing through various techniques. These techniques include heat therapies like ultrasound and moist heat to improve circulation and mobility, cold therapies like ice to reduce pain and inflammation, range of motion exercises to stimulate joints and prevent blood clots, and ambulation devices to assist with walking. The overall goal is to restore function and teach patients new ways to adjust to disabilities.

1. TherapeuticTechniques
Chapter 19

2. PhysicalTherapy
▪ Helps condition muscles and restore
strength and movement when people are
injured, recovering from surgery, or have a
physical disability.
▪ The PT department is made up of a trained
people that work as a team to assist and
direct patients in the rehab process.
▪ The main goal is to reduce pain, prevent
deformity, and promote healing. They also
attempt to restore function or assist
patients by teaching them new ways to
adjust to their disabilities.
▪ PT workers may be employed in in
different settings:
▪ Acute and long term care
facilities
▪ Rehabilitation centers
▪ Schools for the disabled
▪ Public health agencies
▪ Home health care centers
▪ Sports medicine centers
▪ Professional or school sports
teams

3. TherapyTechniques
▪ Ultraviolet-light
▪ Diathermy
▪ Ultrasound
▪ Thermotherapy
▪ Cryotherapy
▪ Range of Motion Exercises
▪ Antiembolism Hose

4. Ultraviolet-light & DiathermyTherapy
Ultraviolet light
▪ An invisible band of radiation at the
upper end of the visible light
spectrum.
▪ Used to treat the skin: acne, pressure
sores, psoriasis, wound infections
▪ This treatment can cause severe
burning.
Diathermy
▪ A medical and surgical technique involving the
production of heat in a part of the body by
high-frequency electric currents used to stimulate
the circulation, relieve pain, destroy unhealthy
tissue.
▪ Often used to treat: Muscle problems, arthritis,
bursitis, and tendonitis
▪ Metal attracts heat during this procedure.

6. UltrasoundTherapy
▪ Uses high frequency sound waves to
penetrate deep tissues creating effects
of deep heat in your muscles and
joints.
▪ Deep heat increases the blood flow to
the area being treated, bringing
nutrients and carrying away waste.
▪ Used to treat: pain, muscle spasms,
swelling and inflammation, and
problems with circulation.

7. Thermotherapy
▪ Refers to heat treatments.
▪ Heat is used to speed up the healing
process by causing the blood vessels to
expand (dilate) and allowing more blood to
circulate to the area to help with the
healing process.
▪ There are 2 kinds of thermotherapy:
▪ Moist heat (liquid hot packs)
▪ Dry heat (heat lamps, heat pads)
▪ This type of treatment is used to:
▪ Relieve pain
▪ Promote muscle relaxation and
drainage
▪ Reduce muscle spasms, inflammation,
and swelling

8. Cryotherapy
▪ Referring to cold therapy
▪ Causes the blood vessels to get
smaller (contract).This slows the flow
of blood to the area.This reduces the
amount of fluid and helps reduce
pain.
▪ Cold application is used to:
▪ Relieve pain
▪ Reduce body temperature
▪ Control bleeding
▪ Reduce inflammation
▪ Prevent edema (bruising)

9. Hydrotherapy
▪ Referring to water therapy.
▪ Usually given in a whirlpool, the whole
body may be treated or just a limb.
▪ The treatment is used to:
▪ Apply soothing medication
▪ Promote relaxation
▪ Improve circulation and mobility of an injured
limb
▪ Loosen and remove dead skin

10. Range of Motion Exercises
▪ ROM exercise are important for the
resident who has limited movement.
▪ ROM exercises are given to:
▪ Stimulate circulation to decrease chances
of blood clots.
▪ Encourage flexibility and mobility of the
joints.
▪ 3 types of ROM:
▪ Active ROM-What the patient can do on
their own.
▪ Active Assistive ROM-When the patient can
move of the way but requires assistance.
▪ Passive ROM-When therapist moves the
joint for them.

11. ▪ Flexion- the act of bending.
Decreasing the size of the angle.
▪ Extension- the act of straightening
out. Increasing the size of the angle.
▪ Abduction- moving away from the
midline.
▪ Adduction- moving towards the
midline.
▪ Internal Rotation- rotation towards
the center of the body.
▪ External Rotation- away from the
center of the body.
▪ Inversion- tilting the sole of the foot
towards the midline.
▪ Eversion- tilting the sole of the foot
away from the midline.
▪ Dorsiflexion- Bending ankle upward.
▪ Plantarflexion- Bending ankle
downward.

12. GuardingTechniques
▪ Used when moving patients from place to place.They help protect the patient from getting
hurt.
▪ Techniques to transfer a patient:
▪ PivotTechnique
▪ SlidingTechnique
▪ LiftingTechnique

13. GuardingTechniques
▪ PivotTechnique: Used when moving a patient who can bear weight on at least one
foot.
▪ Works best when moving from a bed or chair to a chair. Normally involves one
person, using a transfer belt to help the patient.
▪ SlidingTechnique: Used when patient needs to be moved and cannot get up or bear
weight on either foot.
▪ Works best when moving from bed to gurney or chair and back again.This
provides security and decreases the chance of separation between chairs and bed.
▪ LiftingTechnique: Used when there is ample help and strength to support the patient
fully while moving them from one support to another.

14. GuardingTechniques
▪ All patients who can support themselves are encouraged to walk alone or with
the assistance of another person.
▪ Try to help keep their body functions as normal as possible.
▪ A guarding belt (walking or gait belt) supports and helps patients feel secure.
You may support the patient by placing one hand on the side of the gait belt and
other behind the patient holding onto the belt.
▪ If a patient requires 2 people, one person on each side holding each arm and
holding securely around the waist.
▪ If a patient falls, prevent injury by helping the resident to the floor.

16. Rehabilitation Equipment
▪ Ambulation devices assist patients to walk.
▪ Canes
▪ Crutches
▪ Walkers
▪ Braces
▪ Transporting Devices
▪ Equipment to move patients from one
place to another. Ex-Wheelchairs &
Gurneys
▪ Adaptive-Assistive Devices
▪ Equipment that helps a person perform
daily activities.
▪ These can range from special holders for
silverware to devices that help people
put on socks or button clothing.

18. OxygenTherapy
Nasal Cannula
▪ Two pronged tube that fits into the
nostrils and secured with an elastic trap.
Mask
▪ Plastic see through mask that fits over the
nose and mouth and is secured with an
elastic strap.

19. Vocabulary
▪ PhysicalTherapy
▪ Hydrotherapy
▪ Ultraviolet light
▪ Diathermy
▪ Ultrasound
▪ Thermotherapy
▪ Range of motion
▪ Flexibility
▪ Contraction
▪ GuardingTechniques
▪ Gurney
▪ Ambulation

20. CHAPTER 19 Questions – write question & answer
▪ 1.What does midline and center of body
mean when talking about ROM?
▪ 2.What is the purpose of the ROM
exercises?
▪ 3.When would antiembolism hose be
used on a patient?
▪ 4.What is one of the problems associated
with UV therapy?
▪ 5. Contrast thermo and cryo therapy and
what they are used for.
▪ 6.What is the standard temperature for
water in a hydrotherapy treatment?
▪ 7.What is the main principle behind
acupuncture?
▪ 8.When do overuse injuries develop?Why
are they difficult to prevent? And what's
the best way to avoid them?
▪ 9.What is an assistive device? Name 2
examples of what someone would need
them for.
▪ 10.What is respiratory therapy? And what
do respiratory therapist do?