Physical Agents Competency #2 Estim for Muscle Contractions

motor point; same

one electrode should be placed over the _____ ____ of the muscle to be stimulated and the other on the _____ muscle at least 2 in apart and parallel to the muscle fibers

pulsed biphasic or russian

what waveform do we use for estim for muscle contractions?

125-300 (sometimes preset to 250-300)

what is the pulse duration for muscle contractions?

125-200

shorter pulse durations are more comfortable for stimulating smaller muscles. what is that duration?

200-300

longer pulse durations are needed for larger muscles. what is that duration?

higher

if pulse duration is shorter the intensity needs to be _____ to achieve the same strength of muscle contraction

20 pps

what frequency/rate is needed for small muscles?

30 pps

what frequency/rate is needed for larger muscles?

35-50 pps

what is the recommended pulse duration for muscle contraction?

80

you may need to increase the pulse duration to _____ pps for larger muscles to initiate a stronger contraction but the muscle will fatigue quickly

1:5, 10:50s

what is the on/off time for strengthening?

1:1, 2-5s to produce fatigue

what is the on/off time for spasticity/muscle spasm reduction?

1:1, 2-5s

what is the on/off time for edema?

1-4s (longer for stronger contractions)

what is the ramp time for repetitive exercise/strengthening?

none, muscles contract/relax quickly

what is the ramp time for gait training?

4-8s (if used for contraction of agonist to a spastic muscle to avoid rapid stretching of agonist which would increase spasticity)

what is the ramp time if someone had a CVA?

50% MVIC

what is the intensity for muscle strengthening if there was no injury?

test the strong side with HHD

how do you calculate someone's MVIC?

10% MVIC (higher if possible)

what is the intensity for muscle strengthening after an injury?

lowest intensity to produce functional movement

what is the intensity for motor re-education?

strong enough to produce a visible contraction

what is the intensity for muscle spams/spasticity reduction?

pulse duration or frequency

if you are unable to achieve a contraction at a tolerable intensity then you should increase what?

10-20 contractions

what is the treatment time for muscle strengthening?

3-5 x/day

if someone has a home unit how often should they use it for strengthening?

based on functional activity, but no longer than 20 min

what is the treatment time for muscle re-eduaction?

as needed while performing functional activity

what is the treatment time for FES?

when contraction of a muscle may disrupt healing

what is the contraindication specific to muscle contraction (NMES/FES)?

DOMS

what is the precaution specific to muscle contraction (NMES/FES)?