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Physical Therapy Main

From WikiSM

Other Names

  • Physical Therapy
  • Physiotherapy
  • PT
  • Physical rehabilitation
  • Rehab therapy
  • Movement therapy
  • Therapeutic exercise therapy
  • Physical medicine therapy
  • Functional rehabilitation
  • Musculoskeletal rehabilitation
  • Neurorehabilitation therapy

Introduction

General

  • Profession focused on developing, maintaining, restoring, and improving movement, activity, and function
  • Goal is to enable optimal performance and enhance health, well-being, and quality of life
  • Physical therapists are trained to assess and treat individuals with impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions

History

  • Practice of physical therapy dates back to the time of Hippocrates[1]
  • Emerged as a formal medical specialty primarily in the 20th century

Terminology

Body Functions and Structures: Terms describing physiological functions and anatomical parts, including

  • Neuromuscular interventions[2]
    • Defined as treatments targeting the nervous system and its control of muscle function
    • Focus on sensorimotor control, motor learning, balance, coordination, and proprioception
    • Address impairments at the body structure level related to neural control mechanisms rather than the musculoskeletal tissues themselves
  • Musculoskeletal interventions[3]
    • Includes flexibility, extensibility, and/or strengthening
    • Targets the physical properties of muscles, tendons, and joints themselves
    • Addresses tissue length, range of motion, and force production capacity
  • Cardiopulmonary interventions[4]
    • Focus on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems
    • Addresses aerobic capacity, breathing mechanics, and endurance
  • Integumentary interventions
    • Address skin integrity and wound management
    • Focus on the skin as an organ system rather than neuromuscular function

Activities: Terms related to task execution, including

  • Functional training[5]
    • Refers to exercise interventions designed to enhance performance of specific tasks
    • Define individual's goals in sports, daily life, rehabilitation, or fitness,
    • Emphasizes task specificity and individual responsiveness
  • Activities of daily living (ADL)[6]
    • Routine self-care tasks involving personal care, fundamental mobility, and eating
    • Includes bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, feeding, grooming, and walking across a small room
    • These are essential self-maintenance abilities that people perform as part of everyday life
  • Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)[7]
    • More complex tasks necessary for independent community living beyond basic self-care
    • Examples: using the telephone, shopping, preparing meals, performing housework, managing laundry, traveling independently, taking medications, and managing finances
    • Require higher-level cognitive and physical functioning compared to basic ADLs

Participation: Terms describing involvement in life situations, such as

  • Work-related activities
  • Sport and leisure activities
  • Participation measures

Environmental Factors: Terms addressing external influences:

  • Environmental management
  • Equipment and assistive devices

Clinical Assessment Terms

  • Differential diagnosis and classification
  • Initial examination and evaluation
  • Prognosis
  • Follow up measures

Interventions

  • Resistance training[8]
  • Balance training
  • Strengthening exercises
  • Endurance exercise
  • Manual Therapy
  • Habituation Exercises
  • Augmented Sensory Feedback

Treatment Modalities

Therapeutic Exercise

  • Needs to be updated

Manual Therapy[9]

  • Thrust techniques (manipulation, adjustment) and nonthrust techniques (oscillatory mobilization)
  • Soft tissue mobilization and massage
  • Joint mobilization for both spinal and peripheral joints
  • Neural tissue mobilization

Physical Agents and Modalities

  • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
  • Therapeutic ultrasound
  • Interferential current
  • Laser therapy
  • Acoustic/magnetic-field therapies
  • Thermal modalities encompass both heat and cold applications.
  • Low-level laser therapy shows evidence for acute low back pain

Additional

  • Aquatic Therapy
  • Dry Needling
  • Traction
  • Spinal Manipulative Therapy

Patient education[10]

  • Provide patient education
    • Pain management
    • Lifestyle modifications
    • Activity pacing
    • Functional training for activities of daily living

Equipment

  • Needs to be updated

Treatment: General by Joint

General Elbow Exercises

Treatment: Shoulder

General Shoulder

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Rotator Cuff Repair

Rotator Cuff Tendinitis

Proximal Biceps Tendon Injuries

Scapular Dyskinesis

Acromioclavicular Joint Pain

Distal Clavicle Osteolysis

Treatment: Elbow

UCL Tear

Distal Biceps Tendon Rupture

Lateral Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury

Treatment: Wrist

Hamate Fracture

Extensor Carpi Ulnaris Tendinopathy

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Distal Radius Fracture

Lunotriquetral Ligament Injury

Scaphoid Fracture

Treatment: Finger and Hand

Flexor Pollicis Longus Rupture

Anterior Interosseous Nerve Syndrome

Boxers Fracture

Treatment: Spine

Back Pain

Herniated Disc

Facet Joint Pain

Sacroilliac Joint Pain

Burst Fracture

Treatment: Groin

Osteitis Pubis

Treatment: Hip & Thigh

Meralgia Paresthetica

Piriformis Syndrome

Treatment: Knee and Leg

IT Band Syndrome

Meniscus Tear

Total Knee Replacement

Hoffa Fat Pad Syndrome

Tibial Stress Fracture

Medial Plica Syndrome

Quadriceps Tendonitis

ACL Tear

Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Treatment: Foot & Ankle

Achilles Tendonitis

Retrocalcaneal Bursitis

Flexor Hallucis Longus Tendinopathy

Posterior Ankle Impingement

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Onks, Cayce A., and John Wawrzyniak. "The physical therapy prescription." The Medical Clinics of North America 98.4 (2014): 869-80.
  2. ↑ Roos, Ewa M., Sarah Kroman, and Eva Ageberg. "An Exercise Therapists’ Guide to Neuromuscular Exercise for People With Knee or Hip Osteoarthritis." Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 55.8 (2025): 1-27.
  3. ↑ Kaplan, Sandra L., Colleen Coulter, and Linda Fetters. "Developing evidence-based physical therapy clinical practice guidelines." Pediatric Physical Therapy 25.3 (2013): 257-270.
  4. ↑ Khan, Akram, et al. "Respiratory management of patients with neuromuscular weakness: an American college of chest physicians clinical practice guideline and expert panel report." Chest 164.2 (2023): 394-413.
  5. ↑ Pereira, Hugo V., et al. "International consensus on the definition of functional training: Modified e-Delphi method." Journal of Sports Sciences 43.8 (2025): 767-775.
  6. ↑ Winstein, Carolee J., et al. "Guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association." Stroke 47.6 (2016): e98-e169.
  7. ↑ Gold, David A. "An examination of instrumental activities of daily living assessment in older adults and mild cognitive impairment." Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology 34.1 (2012): 11-34.
  8. ↑ Jette, Alan M., and Anthony Delitto. "Physical therapy treatment choices for musculoskeletal impairments." Physical therapy 77.2 (1997): 145-154
  9. ↑ George, Steven Z., et al. "Interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain: revision 2021: clinical practice guidelines linked to the international classification of functioning, disability and health from the academy of orthopaedic physical therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association." Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 51.11 (2021): CPG1-CPG60.
  10. ↑ Sabha, Marwa, and Marc C. Hochberg. "Non-surgical management of hip and knee osteoarthritis; comparison of ACR/AF and OARSI 2019 and VA/DoD 2020 guidelines." Osteoarthritis and cartilage open 4.1 (2022): 100232.
Created by:
John Kiel on 24 September 2022 23:18:07
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Last edited:
1 June 2026 15:04:49
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