The Use of Heat

On a patient in physical therapy there is a lot of stretching for strengthening that has to be done. When a physical therapist stretches a patient it enhances muscle extensibility, but sometimes a physical therapist has to use heat on the area to get the muscles to loosen up more. When recovering from an injury, patients usually go a long time without moving the injured area, for say a leg, because it causes too much pain. Keeping the leg straight or bend for an extensive amount of time the muscles tighten up and make it difficult to bend or straighten the leg all the way.

             As I've seen with my mentor, Emily Sevilla, when she has a patient who isn't able to straighten or bend the leg all the way, she applies heat. Applying heat to the muscle that has been stiff allows it to relax and loosen up. The heat is usually left on the leg for roughly around 10 to 15 minutes to really have an effect on the muscle. Once the heat is removed and she begins to bend or straighten the patients leg and there is less pain and more flexibility.   

An example of a heating pad

Blog 9: EQ

Content
1. "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

2. a.  "What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?"
              -This EQ does not meet the rule of 3 because it's not specific on what body type, age, height, or gender. Having a healthy weight loss is different from a child to an adult so being specific on who is trying to loss the weight is important.
    b. "What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?"
              -This EQ also does not meet the rule of 3 because conviction is too broad. It can be narrowed down to a specific type of conviction and it would help have a more firm framework for research.
    c.  "What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?"
              -Customer can be narrowed down to age and gender for more depth in research. As well as hairstyle can depend on the occasion, such as a wedding, birthday, etc.
     d. "How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?"
              - Knowing who is treating the pain gives great depth to the research but chronic pain can be narrowed down to a specific part of the body to have a better framework for studies.

3. What is the best way a physical therapist can decide what treatment method to use on a teenage patient recovering from a fractured leg bone?

Hand Pedal

The Hand Pedal exerciser is a great piece of equipment that allows the patient to work out either their legs or their arms. It is a very simple piece of equipment any person of any age can use. They place their hands or feet on the pedals and simple pedal, either forward or backward depending on what muscles they are trying to strengthen. The nob on the top gives the physical therapist the ability to change the resistance of the pedals; the more resistance works out the muscles more because the patient has to apply more force in order to pedal. The patients that are put to use the hand pedals are trying to regain their strength in their arms or legs either because they are loosing mobility or are recovering from an injury or surgery.  

Hand Pedal Exerciser