Physical Therapy Aids

At physical therapy clinics, there are physical therapy aids that help to assist the therapists. Aids have certain tasks which they must complete while working. Their job is to conduct the pre-treatment exercises with the patients. The aids must know what exercise each patient must complete, based off of their flow sheet, how many sets of each, how to properly perform the exercises, what is used for each exercise, and the body part that is worked by performing the exercise. They must also apply heat or ice post treatment to patients, set timers, and rewrite flow sheets. 

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Electrical Muscle Stimulation is used for pain relief and for muscle re-education. This type of treatment is used by therapists to re-train muscles to contract, and also to help manage pain. A machine is used to send electrical current through wires to patches that are attached to the patients body, delivering the current into the muscle tissue causing sensory or motor response from the intended muscle.

Cupping

Therapists use different techniques and tools when treating certain patients. I have been able to see a few different techniques that were quite interesting to learn about. I witnessed cupping being done to a patients calf muscle.

• Cupping is a technique that creates suction and negative pressure to soften tight muscles and tone attachments, loosen adhesions and lift connective tissue, bring hydration and blood flow to body tissues, and drain excess fluids and toxins by opening lymphatic pathways