STRETCHING AS PHYSICAL THERAPY

Stretching is one of the interventions that a physiotherapist use in restoring their patient’s ability to move in the normal way. Stretching is a general term used to describe any therapeutic maneuver designed to increase the extensibility of soft tissues, thereby improving flexibility by elongating (lengthening) structures that have adaptively shortened and have become immobile over time.

People must be able to perform full range of motion in order to do functional activities. Restricted range of motion is caused by the shortening of soft tissues & muscles. This adversely affects people’s daily activities. Among the factors of the shortening of soft tissues & muscles are prolonged immobilization of a body segment, sedentary lifestyle, tissue deformities, etc. Usually, when muscles are immobilized (not moved) for a long period of time in a shortened position, the muscles’ fiber becomes permanently shortened.

Stretching the shortened muscles & soft tissues can increase their extensibility in order for it to function & perform full range of motion. It is as if you are pulling a hardened rubber band to make it elastic again.

                           Figure 1:Pulling a rubber band.      

                                                                        Figure 2:Pulling the hamstring muscles

     

Taking the example of pulling a rubber band, you must pull the rubber band at its ends. The same goes for muscles & soft tissues. You must find the muscles’ point of attachment and pull the muscles by moving the point of attachment away from each other. For example, the point of attachment for the hamstring is the hip bone & tibia bone. To stretch the hamstring, you must flex your leg as far as possible to move the tibia bone & hip bone further from each other.

                                                        

Usually, you must set a time range to stretch your muscle to get the desired result. The most optimum time range to stretch your muscle is within 20 – 30 seconds. Below this time range, your muscles will not get the optimum result & stretching the muscles above the optimum time range will make it weak. Besides that, you can set the amount of sets for stretching the muscles. The best range of amount of sets for stretching is 3 – 5 sets.

Among the indications that require stretching are :

1. Limited range of motion caused by shortened muscles & soft tissues.

2. Muscle weakness.

3. As part of a total fitness program designed to prevent musculoskeletal injuries (warming up)

4. May be used after vigorous exercises to minimize postexercise muscle soreness. (cooling down)

And the contraindications are :

1. Joint motion restricted by bony block, not shortened soft tissues & muscles.

2. Fracture / Incomplete recovery / Stage of immobilization (recovery process)

3. Infection in stretched muscles’ region.

4. Muscles cause pain when stretched.

5. Loss of pain sensation.

Another precaution that must be considered is that the muscles & soft tissues must be warmed up before stretching to reduce the risk of injury & to obtain optimum results. Among the ways to warm up the muscles is just by doing simple exercises using the muscles involved. For example, to warm up the biceps, flex the arm at   

elbow joint while standing with moderate weights in the distal hand & contract the biceps isometrically (muscles not shortened nor lengthened).   

                                                            Figure 3: Stretching as part of daily physical activities

PALPATION

Palpation is used as part of a physical examination in which an object is felt (usually with the hands of therapist or physical examiner) to determine its size, shape, firmness, or location.

Objective of palpation.

1.  Locating the target of structure being palpated.

2.  Assessing the target structure.

3.    It requires interpretation of the sensation that the palpating fingers pick up from the target structure.It involves becoming aware of the quality of the target structure includes its size, shape and others characteristics. It is the primary assessment tool of a body worker.

How to palpate.

1.  Move slowly.

2.    To interpret and make sense of the sensory stimuli that coming through the palpating fingers. It should be performed slowly for the effectiveness to feel the muscles tone.

3.  Use appropriate pressure.

4.    When pressing the client's tissue, palpating fingers usually sink in until a tissue barrier is felt as the increases of resistance to the pressure of the therapist's fingers.

5.    The tissue that is providing the barrier is often the tissue that is important to locate and assess; to not blindly push past this tissue barrier but rather to match the resistance of that tissue and explore it more fully.

6.    When the target muscle is superficial, it is usually not difficult to palpate; just place the therapist's hand there and strumming around it while the client do some action on that particular muscle such as shoulder flexion, extension, abduction. For example, deltoid muscle at the shoulder joint.

7.    When a structure is located in deep layer, it may be impossible to palpate unless deeper pressure is employed. For example, the psoas major muscle within the abdominopelvic cavity. Its requires deeper pressure that might be temporarily be slightly uncomfortable the client until the therapist find the muscle structure.

Source : The Muscle and Bone Palpation Manual ( Joseph E. Muscolino )


By: Haffizan

Shortwave Diathermy Therapy

Short wave diathermy benefit for you!!

        Short wave diathermy (SWD) is one of the electrotherapy that used in physiotherapy job , SWD is a high frequency alternating current. Usually the frequency 27,120,000 cycle persecond and it wavelength is 11 meter, provide deep heating tissue. This machine is set up like this for the medical purpose.

How does SWD work to our body?

          SWD can produce electromagnetic wave  and electro static current that produce rapid vibration of ion and molecule in tissue and causing heating in tissue. The rapid vibration cause  dipolar molecule  to rotate and non-polar molecule being distortion, this process causing a flow of current in tissue that rich in electrolytes.

See what happen SWD activity at molecular level…..

          When at molecular level, our blood vessel and muscle is being heated strongly. Adipose tissue give out poor heat rate and our fat give out high temperature, however in our body fibrous tissue is not rich in blood vessel or fat, so it will produce moderate heating(comfortable).  Thus is will increase the enzyme  activity and

metabolic rate and also growth.

What can SWD do for us???

1.       Reduce pain

2.     Derease muscle spasm

3.     Resolution of inflammation

4.    Faster the healing process

5.     Control chronic infection

6.    Increase extenbility of the fibrous tissue

7.     Increase blood flow

8.     Increase circulation

9.    Vasodilatation(widening blood vessel)

10. Reduce muscle tone

11.    Increase muscle properties

What SWD do to pain and muscle spasm to treat it??

          SWD can be used to reduce pain by triggering other pain to block the transmission of pain by sent the pain to the ‘pain gate’,

This act called counter irritant, it also reduce other pain. SWD also provide heating to ease pain by promoting vasodilatation.

          SWD also help to treat muscle spasm by heating directly to the muscle spindle as the temperature of muscle spindle increase , it will convey muscle to relax, golgi tendon organ also help n preventing muscle to over-strech.

SWD also can increase connective tissue and joint range….

          As the temperature of connective tissue or joint rise at therapeutic range and cause the collagen become more plastic and less elastic. This show that connective tissue can be elongated when at 45  and return at new length than stretch at 25  , the effect is can do long stretch with minimum force, greatest elongation and less pain, and maximum recovery.

Treatment at Knee

Shortwave Diathermy 

Treatment at Shoulder Region

By : Hanbal

Do you have aches and pains in the joints of your hands? Do you have rough, dry or cracked hands or feet? If you have either condition, a "Hot Wax Bath" may be the ideal answer for you. It is relaxing, soothing and conditioning.

What is hot wax bath??

It is simply a heated container of specially formulated wax. The vessel automatically melts the wax when you turn it on. It keeps the wax at a safe temperature for your sensitive skin. Once the wax (paraffin) is melted, you dip your hand or foot into the container of melted wax. Then you pull your hand out and let it dry a moment and repeat this process five to ten times.

After this process has been repeated you will have a hand coated in layers of warm wax. You then put your hand into a plastic bag that comes with the wax. This protects against oils in the wax getting on clothing or furniture. Next, you put your hand into a terry cloth mitt or wrap it in a towel. You can do two hands or just one at a time.

How many ways can you relax for fifteen minutes? Put on some soft music. Light a few candles. Start heating your aromatherapy dish of fragrance. Step into a soothing hot bath. Just relax in your favourite chair with your eyes closed while the wax works its wonders.

A daily treatment of hot paraffin on your hands and feet will do you a world of good physically and emotionally. It really is a treatment that can soothe the skin and calm the soul.Once you are done, peel the wax off of your hands and put it back into the wax container to melt and use again. If this was in a therapy or salon situation, you might want to discard the used wax. But, since this is your personal wax unit, why not reuse the wax each time? You did wash your hands before starting, didn't you? Discard or reuse, it is up to you.

You can get scented waxes to go into your wax tub. Pick your favourite fragrance, tangerine, rose, lavender, citrus, peach, wintergreen and more. If you can't fine them at your local medical supply store or beauty store, they are available online.

Scott Morris manages the site on health beauty shop [http://beautygels.com]. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Morris 

Are you confused about when to use Heat and when to use Cold? Why don’t you choose both?



                                 

Knowing when to use hot therapy vs. cold therapy is very important to healing because they have opposite reactions in the body.  Using the wrong one can inflame and aggravate an injury.

COLD VS. HEAT

The use of cold vs. heat is an important subject because they have opposite reactions in the body.  Using the wrong one will aggravate an injury, while using the correct one can greatly aid in your treatment.  You will even get conflicting advice from doctors.  Who do you believe? 

When you are finished with this reading you will have confidence that you are using the correct treatment.

Heat treatment and ice treatment have opposite reactions.  Heat is relaxing to muscles, but it will increase swelling and inflammation (such as the inflammation associated with tendonitis.)  Ice shrinks the swelling and inflammation, but it will further tighten up a muscle spasm.  Making things worse is that many areas of the body the muscles overlap with the tendons.  So which one should you use?

The answer is different for different conditions and different area of the body.

COLD AND HOT THERAPY

How Can Cold & Hot Therapy Benefit Me In My Daily Life Or Healing Journey?

If you're seeking cold and hot therapy comfort, you'll enjoy your stay in the Cold & Hot Therapy World of Make Me Heal. In here you will find a wide variety of reusable, safe cold and hot compresses (cold/hot packs). Many of the compresses have the ability to be used for both cold and hot therapy. Additionally, some of the cold and hot packs are specially designed for specific areas of the body, such as the face, eyes, breast, and abdomen. Depending on your needs, you can cruise through the Cold Therapy area for cold packs or the Hot Therapy for hot/warm packs.

Cold Therapy
Reduce Post-Op Swelling & Bruising, Soothe Traumatized Skin

Cold therapy is needed to help reduce post-operative swelling and bruising. In everyday life, cold therapy helps reduce swelling and bruising resulting from any type of injury. Many of the specialized products that are featured in the Store function as both cold and hot compresses at the same time and can thus be used to provide both cold and hot therapy to swollen and bruised areas. Cold therapy has been shown to be greatly effective in reducing swelling by slowing the flow of blood and other fluids to the injured area. A cold pack is also beneficial in relieving the sensations of pain and restoring strength and mobility more quickly so that patients can heal faster and feel better sooner. A specialized cold compress is more comfortable and easier to use than an ice pack, frozen peas, or other cold pack solution because the compress molds better the contours of the face and neck, does not leak and does not put any pressure on the skin because it is lighter than crushed ice. Cold compresses are quickly chilled in the freezer (10-15 minutes depending on the product) or in the refrigerator. These cold compress products can be used to reduce swelling and bruising resulting from any type of injury. Additionally, these compresses are highly effective for puffy eyes treatment, alleviation of tired eyes and headaches, relief from clogged sinuses due to colds and allergies, and first aid for burns and trauma.

Hot Therapy
Reduce Post-Op Swelling, Help Disintegrate Bruises

Hot therapy delivered through a warm/hot compress or mask helps break down and disintegrate bruising discolorations and provides moisture or dry heat to areas of discomfort. Hot therapy can also be soothing on sore facial tissues that have been tightened. You may use hot therapy on your bruises from days around days 2-3 post-op (upon your doctor's approval) provided your swelling is not too considerable. A compress is typically heated by boiling water, hot tap water or by heating in a microwave. These hot compress products can be used to reduce swelling and bruising resulting from any type of injury. Additionally, these compresses are highly effective for puffy eyes treatment, alleviation of tired eyes and headaches, relief from clogged sinuses due to colds and allergies, and first aid for burns and trauma.

http://www.makemeheal.com/mmh/product/therapy/index.vm?procid=40

Hot Pack Treatment

Applying a hot pack, or hot towel compress, is the best way to get your remedies absorbed by the body. If you want to heal faster, follow your massage application with a warm compress like so:

Say your knee is sore from arthritis or there's pain from a twist during your basketball game -

Apply your chosen oils (maybe wintergreen for inflammation and lavender for bruising). Then triple fold a hand towel lengthwise, get it as hot as you can under the running faucet and wring out. Wrap the damp, hot towel around the knee and immediately cover with a dry hand towel (double folded lengthwise), tucking in the edges to hold the whole thing in place. Let sit for 10 to 20 minutes until the towel gets cold.

Heat therapy will work just about anywhere on the body. Remember, essential oils are repelled by water and with the warmth of the towel opening up pores and improving the circulation, your remedy gets to where it's needed FAST.

Some oils like oregano, cinnamon, peppermint and wintergreen can intensify under the towel. Feeling uncomfortable? Just remove the compress and massage a little vegetable oil over the area before reapplying to dilute the essential oils.

Where there is severe inflammation cold therapy will work just as well. Do the same with a very cold damp towel. Brrrr, much better in the Summer time.

http://www.essential-natural-remedies.com/hot-pack.html

http://www.redlandschiropractor.com/ask_dr_bruce/6_cold_vs_heat_treatment.htm

Are you still confuse now???

Think about it now….

By hafizah aziz.