What Technology Are Physical Therapists Using Today?
New PT Technologies- IAPT
AdvanceMENTS in PT Technology…
While individually prescribed exercise programs are often the bread and butter of a physical therapy plan of care, there is no denying that technological advances in physical therapy tools have a place in the clinic also. If it’s been a while since you’ve been to physical therapy you might be wondering what new technology exists to target tissue mobility, reduce pain, and improve the effectiveness of strengthening programs. This article will introduce you to some new pieces of equipment you might find at your next PT visit.
Myofascial Decompression (MFD): Myofascial decompression is a negative pressure soft tissue mobilization technique based on the traditional cupping method. During this treatment cups are placed on a particular area of the body and a special tool is used to create suction within the cup. Unlike other forms of soft tissue work in which the skin, fascial layers, and muscles are compressed, for example during foam rolling, these instruments actually pull the skin, muscle, and fascial layers up into the cup creating space and temporarily altering blood flow to the area. When placed strategically and paired with active movement, MFD can alter the mechanical and fluid properties of fascial layers, increase blood flow to the area and allow the fascial layers to glide and slide on one another more easily. Given that pain and movement receptors are often found in the deeper layers of the fascia this treatment can help improve tissue mobility, reduce pain, and improve neuromuscular control and biomechanics.
Percussive Massage Guns: Massage guns are becoming common in many physical therapy clinics. These tools provide a percussive vibration from a single, interchangeable, head at the end of the handheld “gun.” They typically have different settings and the intensity can be adjusted as needed. When used before or after intense exercise it can help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (Imtiyaz et al., 2014) and when used before it can provide short-term increases in muscle length. It also may increase blood flow to an area and reduce inflammation which can have pain relieving benefits. One benefit to this tool is that it is portable and many people feel a benefit after its use.
Blood Flow Restriction Training Method: This technique consists of applying a pneumatic tourniquet cuff to the proximal portion of a limb to partially restrict venous outflow from the areas below it. This technique causes blood to pool in the capillary beds and has been shown in many studies to increase muscle strength and size while exercising at loads less than would be typically required to induce strength gains. It has also been shown to have positive effects on bone mineral density and tendon stiffness. It is often used in patients who are recovering from surgeries such as an ACL or tendon repair in which weight bearing and load tolerance is low but they need to regain strength. As you can imagine, if done incorrectly, injury can occur, so this is not something to try at home but should be applied by a PT trained in this particular modality.
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES): In the body, muscles are activated through nerve signals originating in the brain and spinal cord. If there has been an injury to the brain or spinal cord the descending motor signals to the muscles are impaired and sometimes nearly absent resulting in weakness and poor motor control of the muscles affected. This can result from an injury to the central nervous system such as a stroke, spinal cord injury, or Multiple Sclerosis, for example. NMES consists of a machine that sends an electrical signal to a muscle through a pair of electrodes placed over the muscle. NMES can help restore some of the brain- and spinal cord-muscle connectivity as a patient actively tries to move their muscle while the external signal causes a muscle contraction. In the past, these machines were mainly for use in the clinic but advances in technology have allowed for the production of at-home units that can be prescribed by your physical therapist and are relatively low-cost. This technology has also been incorporated into several different types of wearable technology to help with things like foot drop or grasp and release.
THE NEW PHYSICAL THERAPY FRONTIER
While the role of physical therapists as movement and injury rehabilitation experts will remain, new advances in technology will undoubtedly help us to be more effective practitioners. Every year new research is being done on technology to help you move better and feel better and while time and repeated use will determine which of these technologies deserves to remain in the physical therapist’s toolbox for the long run, for now we are excited about what is to come!
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Brooklyn's Premier Holistic Physical Therapy Clinics- There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of biomechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better!
First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
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