Physical therapy treatments and modalities

If you have a musculoskeletal injury or movement dysfunction, your healthcare provider may
refer you to physical therapy to help decrease pain and improve mobility. Your symptoms may
be mild, or you may have symptoms that severely limit your functional mobility.
Many treatment options exist for patients who are referred to physical therapy. Physical agents
and modalities are often used by your physical therapist to augment your therapy and to help
achieve rehab goals. They may be used to decrease pain and inflammation. Exercises may be
prescribed to help improve endurance, strength, or range of motion. Your physical therapist
should be prepared to explain to you the reason for using each therapeutic modality and what to
expect from each treatment.
Exercise is a controlled physical stress applied to the body to help improve strength, range of
motion, or flexibility. Exercise can be passive or active. Passive exercise is one that requires you
to simply relax while another person, like a physical therapist, applies the stress. One example of
this is a hamstring stretch where a person lifts your leg to elongate the hamstring muscle on the
back of your thigh. Active exercise is exercise that you are performing under your own power.
Walking on a treadmill, hip strengthening exercises, or straight leg raising exercises are all active
exercises. If you attend physical therapy in a clinic, at home, or while in the hospital, you will
likely be engaged in some form of exercise to help improve your mobility. Many times, you will
be instructed in a home exercise program. The home program is a group of exercises that are
prescribed by your physical therapist that you perform on your own. The home exercise program
can be very important to help you return to normal function.
Ultrasound is a deep heating treatment used to treat many musculoskeletal conditions like
sprains, strains, or tendonitis. Ultrasound is administered by your physical therapist using an
ultrasound machine. A wand called a sound head is pressed gently against your skin and moved
in small circular sweeps near the site of injury. A small amount of gel is used so the ultrasound
waves are absorbed into the skin and muscles.
Electrical stimulation and TENS (transcutaneous electrical neuromuscular stimulation) is
occasionally used in physical therapy to help decrease pain around injured tissue. There are two
theories about how the stimulation works: the gate theory and the opiate theory. Other forms of
electrical stimulation may be used to contract muscles. This is called neuromuscular electrical
stimulation (NMES) and is used to help your injured muscles "relearn" how to function properly.
Traction is used in the treatment of low back pain and neck pain to help decrease pain and
improve mobility in the spine. To use lumbar traction, you must be strapped into a mechanical
machine. There is a vest that helps support your ribs and another device that wraps around your
pelvis. The vest and pelvic device are stabilized with straps, and a mechanical force is applied
with a machine. Cervical traction is applied in either the sitting or lying position. If sitting, a
harness is attached to the head and a pulley system is used with a small weight attached. The
weight provides the traction force while you sit comfortably in a chair. In lying, or supine,
traction, a specific device is used. You must lie down on your back and strap your forehead into
the device. Then, a pneumatic pump is used to help provide the traction force to your neck.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/physical-therapy-treatments-and-modalities.