Gait Training

Definition

Activities of Daily Living Training

  • Training of severely impaired individuals in essential activities of daily living, including bathing; feeding; preparing meals; toileting; walking; making bed; and transferring from bed to chair, wheelchair or walker. This procedure is considered medically necessary to enable the member to perform essential activities of daily living related to the patient's health and hygiene, within or outside the home, with minimal or no assistance from others. This procedure is considered medically necessary only when it requires the professional skills of a provider, is designed to address specific needs of the member, and must be part of an active treatment plan directed at a specific outcome. The member must have the capacity to learn from instructions

Muscle Training

Exercises of this type are taught to the patient who has lost some control over a major skeletal muscle. By learning precise and conscious control over a specific muscle, the patient is able to strengthen and coordinate its movement with normal motor patterns and thus enhance mobility. Muscle training or neuromuscular re-education demands full cooperation of the patient, who must be capable of understanding the purpose of the exercises, following directions, and giving full attention to the muscle isolated for retraining. The sessions are held in a quiet, comfortable atmosphere to facilitate concentration by the patient

Muscle Strength and Endurance

  • Muscle Strength and Endurance. Improvement of muscle strength and endurance is particularly important in the rehabilitation of patients whose goal is to return to an active and productive life after a debilitating illness or disabling injury. The exercises are prescribed according to the individual needs of the patient and usually involve more than one group of muscles.

     

    Strengthening

    Strengthening (force increasing) exercises are prescribed after an examination has shown weakness in individual muscles or muscle groups. These exercises are usually administered with relatively high resistance and few (3 to 10) repetitions. A group of exercises, called a set, is followed by a few minutes of rest. Three to 5 sets for a muscle or group constitute one bout of exercises. Strengthening exercises are often performed daily in early stages of rehabilitation, but less often later in treatment

     

     

    Endurance Exercises

    Endurance exercises stimulate changes in the involved muscle or muscles, resulting in improved capacity for repeated contraction (e.g., increased ability to use metabolites). When conducted over a sufficient length of time and with several muscle groups, they may also produce central effects of the cardiovascular system (see cardiovascular exercise). Endurance exercises employ relatively low resistance and numerous (15 or more) repetitions. Endurance exercises are generally administered daily.

    Relief of Tension

    Exercises that promote relaxation of the muscles and provide relief from the effects of tension are useful in a wide variety of disorders ranging from mild tension headache to insomnia. Patients who are especially tense may require several sessions of instruction in relaxation before they can learn the technique.

    It is the professional determination of your Physical Therapist to decide when and how he/she will include this technique in your treatment plan.

    Most likely the Electrical Stimulation will be in addition to therapeutic exercises or manual therapy techniques that your therapist will choose to best treat you.