Physical Therapy Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards related to physical therapy based on lecture notes.

Patient-centered care

Care that responds to the individual context of the patient, employs effective communication, and uses shared decision-making processes.

Red flag conditions

Serious pathologies that may require further screening and/or referral.

Psychosocial factors

Factors related to a patient's psychological and social well-being that can impact their physical health.

Clinical Reasoning

Cognitive assessment to evaluate and manage patients, ongoing process, guides present and future decisions and allows for professional growth and life-long learning.

Clinical Reasoning Impairment-based approach

Foundational approach to evaluation and treatment in physical therapy

ICF model

Framework for describing functioning and disability in relation to a health condition. Shifts the conceptual emphasis away from negative connotations of disability with a focus on abilities.

Primary impairments

Impairments linked to individual activity limitation and participation restrictions, within the context of personal and environmental factors.

CRAFTE

Clinical Reasoning Assessment for Thinking Effectively. Aimed to organize and guide clinical reasoning and decision-making throughout the examination process. Avoid going through the motions by adding rationale at each step.

Knowing-in-Action

A type of knowledge that is expressed through action and is often implicit and difficult to articulate.

Reflection-in-Action

Thinking on your feet during the course of assessment and treatment.

Reflection-on-Action

Thinking about what occurred after the event.

Impairment

Problem in body structure or function

Activity Limitation

Difficulty executing a task

Participation Restriction

Problems with involvement in life situations

Subjective Examination

Patient interview and history taking to gather information about their condition.

SINSS

Severity, Irritability, Nature, Stage, Stability - a framework for assessing and managing patient conditions.

Nociceptive Pain

Pain arising from actual or threatened damage to non-neural tissue and is due to the activation of nociceptors.

Neuropathic Pain

Pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system.

Nociplastic Pain

Pain that arises from altered nociception despite no clear evidence of actual or threatened tissue damage causing the activation of peripheral nociceptors or evidence for disease or lesion of the somatosensory system causing the pain.

Allodynia

Pain due to a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain.

Hyperalgesia

Increased pain from a stimulus that normally provokes pain.

Hypoalgesia

Decreased pain/sensitivity from a painful stimulus