Musculoskeletal rehabilitation involves the application of rehabilitation medicine knowledge and therapeutic techniques to improve pain, physical structural abnormalities, and functional impairments caused by acute or chronic musculoskeletal system injuries or diseases. The goal is to enhance the patient’s quality of life and facilitate their return to family and society. Here are some common rehabilitation treatment techniques used in musculoskeletal rehabilitation:
1. **Joint Mobilization Techniques**
The objective of joint mobilization techniques is to increase or maintain the range of motion (ROM) of joints and enhance the mobility of limbs.
- Methods include:
**Active Movement**: Movements performed by the patient’s own muscle power.
**Active-Assisted Movement**: Movements performed with the help of external devices or minimal assistance from another person.
**Passive Movement**: Movements where the joint is moved by an external force while the patient’s muscles are relaxed.
**Continuous Passive Motion (CPM)** is a training method that utilizes specialized equipment to provide prolonged, slow, and passive movement of the joints. Before the training, parameters such as the range of motion, speed of movement, and duration of CPM can be preset based on the patient’s condition, allowing the joint to move passively within a certain range.
These techniques are crucial for patients recovering from musculoskeletal injuries or conditions that limit their joint movement and overall mobility. They help in preventing joint stiffness, maintaining muscle strength, and promoting overall functional recovery.
CPM: Bedside Multi-Joint Isokinetic Strength Testing & Training System
2. **Soft Tissue Stretching Techniques**
- Stretching is a method of lengthening contracted or shortened soft tissues.
It refers to the therapeutic method of lengthening contracted or shortened soft tissues. Its main purposes are to improve or regain the extensibility of soft tissues around joints, reduce muscle tone, increase or restore the range of motion of joints, prevent irreversible tissue contractures, and prevent or reduce muscle and tendon injuries that may occur during physical activity or sports. Based on the source of stretching force, the method of stretching, and the duration of the stretch, stretching can be divided into three types: manual stretching, mechanical stretching, and self-stretching.
3. **Muscle Strengthening Techniques**
– Based on the principle of overload, muscle strengthening aims to improve or enhance muscle strength through active muscle contractions.
– Methods include non-resistive exercises and resistive exercises, such as isometric, isotonic, and isokinetic exercises.
Isokinetic exercises:Bedside Multi-Joint Isokinetic Strength Testing & Training System
4. **Joint Play Techniques**
-Maitland manipulative therapy, also known as joint mobilization, is a technique named after Geoffrey Douglas Maitland, an Australian physiotherapist who made significant contributions to the field. This technique is a manual therapy performed by a therapist within the patient’s available range of joint motion.
-Clinically, Maitland techniques are often used to treat joint dysfunction caused by pain, limited mobility, and stiffness. They are characterized by their specificity, rapid effect, minimal discomfort for the patient, ease of acceptance, and simplicity of operation.
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5. **McKenzie Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT)**
The McKenzie Method, developed by New Zealand physiotherapist Robin McKenzie in the mid-20th century, is a unique set of examination and treatment techniques based on biomechanics that has shown effective results in the treatment of cervical and lumbar spine conditions. The basic characteristics of the McKenzie Method include:
- McKenzie believes that prolonged poor sitting posture and repetitive bending and flexing are significant factors contributing to neck and back pain. Therefore, maintaining correct posture and targeted exercises can eliminate the patient’s symptoms of neck and back pain.
- McKenzie has designed a comprehensive assessment form, through which patients can determine suitable exercises or manual techniques for themselves through self-examination and practice of exercises, and then apply treatment. The patient’s pain, numbness, and other symptoms can be quickly relieved or even disappear.
- Once patients have mastered the exercises suitable for them, they do not necessarily need to go to the hospital for treatment, even if their neck and back pain symptoms recur due to fatigue. They can perform specific exercises at home to alleviate the symptoms.
6. **Massage Techniques**
Massage is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy that uses manual techniques applied to specific areas on the body’s surface to prevent and treat diseases. As recorded in “Suwen: Ju Tong Lun Pian,” “Pressing leads to the arrival of warm energy, and with the arrival of warm energy, pain ceases.” Traditional Chinese medicine believes that massage has the effects of promoting the circulation of Qi and blood, dredging meridians, and relieving spasms and pain, showing significant effects in the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. Commonly used techniques include muscle relaxation and stretching methods.
7. **Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy**
Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, guided by the basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine, stimulates specific acupoints or areas on the body through needling or moxibustion to unblock meridians, harmonize Qi and blood, balance Yin and Yang, and recover from physical and mental diseases. It includes traditional therapies such as acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, skin needle therapy, and three-edged needle therapy, as well as modern developments like electroacupuncture, aquapuncture, auricular acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, and small needle knife therapy. It has a wide range of applications in musculoskeletal diseases and shows obvious therapeutic effects. The functions of acupuncture include unblocking meridians, harmonizing Yin and Yang, and supporting the healthy Qi while dispelling pathogenic factors.
8. **Traction Techniques**
Traction applies the principle of action and reaction forces in mechanics, using manual, mechanical, or electric traction devices to apply pulling forces to a specific part or joint of the body, causing a certain degree of separation of the joint and appropriate stretching of the surrounding soft tissues. This physical therapy method aims to achieve reduction, fixation, alleviate nerve root compression, and correct joint deformities. Traction can be categorized based on the area of application into spinal traction and limb joint traction, with spinal traction further divided into cervical and lumbar traction; based on the source of traction into manual, mechanical, and electric traction; based on the duration of traction into intermittent, continuous, and rapid traction; and based on the patient’s position during traction into sitting, lying, and standing traction.
Traction: Cervical and lumbar traction table for physiotherapy Rehabilitation
9. **Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Training Techniques**
Proprioception is a special form of sensation that includes joint movement sense and position sense, mainly including:
- the static perception ability of joint position;
- the perception ability of joint movement (the perception of joint movement or acceleration);
- the ability of efferent activity in reflex response and muscle tone regulation circuits. Training in joint proprioception and limb coordination should be integrated throughout the entire rehabilitation process.
10. **Standing and Walking Training Techniques**
Standing training refers to exercises that restore the ability to stand independently or with assistance. Good standing is the foundation of walking, so standing training must be conducted before walking training. Walking training refers to exercises that restore the ability to walk independently or with assistance.
Gait: Gait Training Robot
11. **Physical Agent Modalities**
Physical agent modalities use natural or artificial physical agents (such as electricity, light, sound, magnetism, cold, heat, water, etc.) as the main means of physical energy, acting on the human body through physiological regulatory mechanisms such as the nervous, humoral, and endocrine systems to prevent and treat diseases.
In addition to the above treatment techniques, there are many other rehabilitation techniques, such as motor relearning techniques, constraint-induced movement techniques, and forced use of the affected limb, which are traditional or modern rehabilitation techniques.
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Post time: Aug-23-2024