Miracles of Therapy
A Contracture is a fixed loss of range of motion of a joint. It is usually due to any pathology of soft tissues like muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilages, or connective tissues.
There are two main types of contractures:
How a physical therapist decides/prescribes the exercise for a patient to make meaningful changes. You may be wondering, exercise prescription?? We have heard about prescribing medication but not exercises, right? Why do I bother to spread awareness that exercises, just like medications also have a prescription? Yes, you read that right. We, physical therapists, don’t just come up with exercises and resistance that patients need to do. Its also not just a guess when we say the frequency and intensity of exercises like 10 repetitions for twice a week. Exercise is a prescription; just not written on a prescription pad! 
Continue reading “Tips on Prescribing Exercise as a Physical Therapist”
As physical therapists, we prescribe a wheelchair based on our patient’s needs. We look for things like ambulatory status, weight-bearing precautions, arm or leg injuries, cardiopulmonary problems, etc while prescribing an appropriate wheelchair. Wheelchair evaluation can be very simple and straightforward when it is used for short-term use. Contradictorily, it can be tricky for patients with neurological disorders. It starts with getting information regarding past history, checking muscle strength and balance, finding the cognitive abilities and the usage of the chair. Yes, it is your full-fledged thorough physical or occupational therapy evaluation. And let me tell you, it does not end only an evaluation! A patient needs to be well trained to propel the manual chair or drive the power chair for the safety of himself and the safety of others. 
Continue reading “Six Tips on performing Successful Wheelchair Evaluation”
Exercise is a common term used by people in a different spectrum. Some will say the workout is the same as exercise. While this topic can be very basic for PTs, it is not so basic for other healthcare professionals. I have been asked several times regarding the types of exercise. Specifically, what do they mean and what is the difference between each type. So, let’s talk about what exercise is, and the different types based on the level of assistance required.
Continue reading “Types of Exercise – Definitions based on required level of assistance”
A proper wheelchair provides the required comfort and necessary support. Transport chair, Geri chair, and electric chair are just some varieties of wheelchairs. With so many types of wheelchairs available in the market, it is crucial for people working in a hospital or a subacute care facility to find a proper wheelchair for their patients. It becomes more challenging if you work with neuro patients as I do. The reason being, patients with neurological disorders change their presentation frequently due to change in tone and tightness. That is why a proper wheelchair evaluation is important. The aim of this article is to provide you with basic information regarding different types of wheelchairs and their use.
Continue reading “Types of wheelchair and a guide to selection”
Having an exercise partner is helpful in many ways. Exercising in a group not only benefits a patient but also is useful for a therapist.
Have you ever had a situation where you are actually working with one patient? While your patient is resting, she starts talking with other patients sitting in the rehab gym. They become friends, start going to some activities together, go-to dining room together and to stretch it a little further, they stay friends even after going home! Yes, I never thought about it, but socialization is very important and magical (to some extent!) for the majority of our patients. It gives them courage, positivity, and hope that they are not the only one in their fight. It motivates them to fight harder, achieve their goals and go home.
This brings me to our topic for today – Group exercise and its benefits in Physical Therapy. Group therapy is not only cool from a patient’s perspective, but it is also very efficient and productive from the therapist’s side. What more as a therapist you can ask for when your patient is already motivated to come down to the gym happily and do all her exercises!! Happy patients and happy therapist, win-win on both ends. So let’s talk about the benefits of group exercises. Continue reading “Group Exercise: Seven Reasons to Consider as a Treatment Of Choice”
I have developed this Physical Therapy evaluation form based on what I usually need to know from my patient. It was designed mainly for sub-acute or inpatient setting, but it can also be utilized in various other settings such as outpatient and home health. The purpose of this article is to help other therapists have information quickly available when they need it. Feel free to add/remove items based on your professional needs. A downloadable version is attached at the bottom of the post. Continue reading “Physical Therapy Patient Evaluation Form – Format and Sample”
Arthritis is a buzzword you may have heard whether you are a healthcare professional or not. Most commonly, Osteoarthritis is referred to as arthritis. Furthermore, a lot of times and joint pain related to aging is also labeled as arthritis or Osteoarthritis. As a physical therapist, I cringe when a condition is generalized without facts. The truth is, It’s not necessary to “always” have pain with arthritis, but of course, I bite my tongue (often) and just give a pretty smile. So, my aim with this post is to make people (mainly non-healthcare providers) aware of what arthritis is, and provide tips to deal with the discomfort associated with the condition.
Continue reading “Dealing with Osteoarthritis: A few Treatment Options”
The physical therapy program is becoming more and more popular. Physical Therapy school is hard and it can become challenging to hold onto your hopes till the completion sometimes. I want to write this blog to educate current Physical Therapist students how a day looks like a Physical Therapist routinely. So here is to the life in the day of a Physical Therapist!!
So its time for the interview. Maybe first; maybe one after other unsuccessful interviews. Once we finish our internship and final semester, it is time to look for places where we can actually use our knowledge and help people! Granted, after having a PT degree, you are going to get a job. If you have some contacts in the field, you may even start working under direct supervision prior to clearing your NPTE. In any case, yes, you will get a job – no worries there.
Continue reading “Guide to prepare for an interview as a PT(Physical Therapist)”
Recovery after SCI (spinal cord injury) depends on the level of injury as well as the type of injury. This is a case of 65 years old healthy woman who fell from seven steps and had a loss of consciousness for a few minutes almost a year and a half ago.
The patient sustained C7 cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) from a fall. Her injury was classified as ASIA A SCI and she had to undergo cervical spinal fusion after the injury. She received basic rehabilitation at the hospital and had few complications like PNA and UTI during her hospitalization. She came to our facility for neurorehabilitation. Gait training was the most difficult task for my patient to achieve after her injury. And of course, gait training was one of her main goals. This article summarizes her progress in rehab and the creative ideas I had to use during her gait training. 
Continue reading “Orthosis in Gait training – Successful Story of recovery from Spinal Cord Injury(SCI)”
Often times, physical therapists are put into a place where we need to have a conversation with family explaining their loved ones cannot go home, can’t live alone, won’t be able to drive, can’t feed themselves, or their impulsivity or memory causes harm to their independence. Sounds so familiar, isn’t it? Being able to have a difficult conversation is a key part of the physical therapist’s routine. We may have to have this kind of conversation once a week or month or more often!!
Continue reading “Mastering Difficult Conversation as a Physical Therapist”
Time management and being Organised are tow key factors to be successful in a day. It takes good skill, a lot of patience and of course a smiling face to complete daily requirements in a given time and to go home to the family. This is especially true in a career involving human service like healthcare. with over ten years of experiences, training and trailing many different ways, I want to discuss some key factors that will land you a successful day in Physical therapy career.
Continue reading “Succeed in a Physical Therapy career at a sub-acute care facility.”
Traumatic brain injury is a type of injury that often results from an accident. It involves a long recovery process way past physical healing. This type of brain injury requires a lot of patience as well as persistence from all parties involved.
Continue reading “Tale of a TBI survivor: From ventilation to Ambulation with Physical Therapy”