Re-familiarize Yourself with Physical Agents
Rehabilitation specialists have long incorporated therapeutic modalities into their treatments, often as pieces to a larger plan of care. The purpose of using these modalities is usually two-fold in nature: 1) to aid in speeding the recovery process via physiologic changes, e.g. promoting cellular proliferation or interrupting the cellular damage-response cycle; and 2) to decrease pain and/or the inflammatory response to increase functional mobility. However, the use of therapeutic modalities is decreasing in the rehabilitative setting as the standards of care and performance expectations of professionals rise. Treatment time becomes valuable and, unfortunately, secondary payers dictate reimbursement rates. Often times, these rates are negligible in the grand scheme of the rehabilitative process, and physical agents take a back seat role. It is crucial to re-examine these therapeutic agents that, theoretically, have been in existence for centuries and search the literature for the best practice evidence supporting their efficacy.

This clinically applicable, one-day seminar will help the clinician appreciate the importance of literature reviews for best practice knowledge. The rehabilitative clinician will examine the most current research that is supportive, disproving, and inconclusive about various therapeutic modalities. This highly informative seminar also includes group problem-solving sessions with mini labs for professionals to increase their knowledge of, as well as application techniques and rationales for, using specific physical agents.

Course Content

INTRODUCTION TO EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE

u          Credible sources and search engines

u          Sackett's hierarchy of evidence

            -           defining and understanding Sackett's hierarchy

            -           identifying credible bodies of evidence

            -           collecting and filtering the evidence

            -           selecting the evidence for clinical application

INTRODUCTION TO THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES

u          History of modalities

u          Types of modalities

            -           thermodynamic

            -           mechanical

            -           electromagnetic

THERMODYNAMIC

u          Mechanism of action

u          Indications and contraindications

            -           review of pathologies

u          Review of the literature

            -           superficial heating and cooling agents

                                             hot and cold packs

            -           deep-heating agents

                                             diathermy

            -           superficial and deep-heating agents

                                             ultrasound

MECHANICAL  

u          Mechanism of action

u          Indications and contraindications

            -           review of pathologies

u          Review of the literature

            -           traction

                                             mechanical and manual

            -           compression

                                             elastic wrapping

                                             cold controlled

            -           water

                                             whirlpool

                                             pulsed lavage

            -           sound

                                             ultrasound

                                                         pulsed vs. continuous

ELECTROMAGNETIC

u          Mechanism of action

u          Indications and contraindications

            -           review of pathologies

u          Review of the literature

            -           electric currents

                                             pain modulation and edema control

                                                         transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

                                                         interferential current (IFC)

                                             tissue healing and edema control

                                                         high-voltage pulsed current (HVPC)

                                                         iontophoresis

                                             neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)

                                                         Russian stimulation

                                                         biofeedback

            -           electromagnetic radiation

                                             ultraviolet lamps

                                             cold lasers

GROUP PROBLEM- SOLVING LAB

u          Clinical case scenarios

u          Mini labs

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH