PowerPoint® to accompany
Medical Assisting
Chapter 43
Second Edition
Ramutkowski Booth Pugh Thompson Whicker
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
1
Assisting with Cold and Heat
Therapy and Ambulation
Objectives:
431 Explain how medical assistants might assist
with some forms of physical therapy.
432 Describe ways to test joint mobility, muscle
strength, gait, and posture.
433 Discuss the benefits of cold and heat therapies.
434 List contraindications to cold and heat therapies.
435 Identify various cold and heat therapies.
436 Demonstrate how to perform cold and heat
therapies.
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Assisting with Cold and Heat
Therapy and Ambulation
Objectives (cont.)
437 Describe hydrotherapy methods.
438 Identify several methods of exercise therapy.
439 Compare different methods of traction.
4310 Demonstrate how to teach a patient to use a cane,
a walker, crutches, and a wheelchair.
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Introduction
Applying cold and You may also assist:
Applying cold and heat
heat therapy and
Teaching basic
assisting patients
exercises
with ambulation are
common duties of a Demonstrating the use
of cane, walker, and
medical assistant.
crutches
Demonstrating how to use a wheelchair and discussing
specific therapies with the patient for use at home are also
duties that you may be asked to perform.
4
General Principles of
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a
medical
specialty for treatment of
musculoskeletal, nervous,
and cardiopulmonary
disorders.
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Assisting with a
Therapeutic Team
Therapeutic team
Physicians
Nurses
Medical assistants
Other specialists
Coordinate
schedules
Making referrals
Explaining
treatment approach
Documenting
treatments
You must have a working knowledge of
therapy techniques.
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Assisting with Patient Assessment
Joint mobility testing – range of motion
(degree to which a joint is able to move)
using a goniometer
Muscle strength testing – determine the
amount of force the patient can exert using
a 5point scale
Gait testing – way a person walks (gait
and swing)
Posture – body position and alignment
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Cryotherapy & Thermotherapy
Cryotherapy – applying cold to a patient’s body for
therapeutic reasons
Wet or dry
Chemical or natural
Ice packs or bags
Thermotherapy – applying heat to a patient’s body for
therapeutic reasons
Dry heat
Electric pads
Heat lamps
Hot soaks
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Factors Affecting Use of
Heat and Cold
Age
Treatment location
Circulation or sensation impairment
Temperature tolerance
9
Principles of Cryotherapy
Physiologic responses to cold
include:
Prevention of swelling by
limiting edema.
Control bleeding by constricting
blood vessels.
Lowering body temperature.
Reduction of pus formation by
inhibiting microorganisms.
Activity
10
Principles of Thermotherapy
Physiologic responses to heat include:
Relief of pain and congestion
Reduction of muscle spasms
Muscle relaxation
Reduction of inflammation
Reduction of swelling
Chemical Hot/Cold Pack
11
Administering Thermotherapy
Dry heat
Chemical hot packs
Heating pads
Hotwater bottles
Heat lamps
Fluidotherapy
Moist heat
Hot soaks
Paraffin bath
12
Administering Thermotherapy
(cont.)
Diathermy – heat therapy in which a
machine produces high frequency waves
that achieve deep heat penetration in
muscle tissue
Ultrasound
Shortwave
Microwave
13
Hydrotherapy
Use of water to treat physical
problems
Whirlpools
Contrast baths
Underwater exercises
14
Apply Your Knowledge
The physician has asked you to perform a
moist heat application to a patient’s left leg.
After about 10 minutes of treatment you check
the area and notice it is very red, and the
patient appears to be breathing fast. What
should you do?
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Apply Your Knowledge Answer
The physician has asked you to perform a
moist heat application to a patient’s left leg.
After about 10 minutes of treatment you check
the area and notice it is very red, and the
patient appears to be breathing fast. What
should you do?
Remove the application immediately and
take the patient’s vital signs. Report the
results to the physician.
16
Exercise Therapy
Offer both preventive and therapeutic
benefits
Primary treatment for fractures,
arthritis, and some respiratory
diseases
17
Exercise Therapy (cont.)
Exercise will help:
Improve muscle tone and
strength
Prevent or correct physical
deformities
Promote neuromuscular
coordination
Improve circulation
Relieves stress
18
Medical Assistant’s Role
Provide information on
various types of
exercise problems and
treatment plan.
Serve as source of
support and
encouragement.
Assist with ROM
exercises.
Teach the patient and
family about ROM
exercises.
19
Type of Exercise
Active mobility – self directed exercises that patient
performs without assistance
Passive mobility – exercises the physical therapist or
machine moves the patient’s body part
Aided mobility – self directed with assistance of a
device such as exercise machine
Active resistance – works against resistance
Isometric – patient relaxes and then contracts muscles
ROM Exercises – moving each joint through its full
range of motions
20
Electrical Stimulation
Devices that deliver controlled amounts of
lowvoltage electric current to motor and
sensory nerves to stimulate muscles.
Prevents atrophy in muscles.
Helps in healing injured joints.
Retrain a patient to use injured muscles.
21
Apply Your Knowledge
A patient reports to you that he is having a lot
of muscle aches when he performs his ROM
exercises. What suggestions could you give
him to prevent and treat this problem?
22
Apply Your Knowledge Answer
A patient reports to you that he is having a lot
of muscle aches when he performs his ROM
exercises. What suggestions could you give
him to prevent and treat this problem?
To prevent the problem he should keep track of the
number or repetitions and amount of weight and
increase each of these slowly. To treat the problem
he should rest and soak in a hot tub.
23
Traction
The pulling or stretching of the
musculoskeletal system to treat fracture bones
and dislocation, arthritic, or other diseased
joints.
May be used to:
Create and maintain bone alignment
Reduce and prevent joint stiffening
Correct deformities
Reduce and relieve muscle spasms
24
Type of Traction
Manual – performed by pulling a patient’s limb by
using you hands.
Static (weight traction) using a harness and weights to
relieve muscle spasms.
Skin – use of foam rubber and weights to prevent injury
to the skin while decreasing muscle spasms.
Skeletal – use pins, wires, or tongs inserted into bones
which are attached to pulleys and weights for
continuous traction.
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