Rehabilitation Vocab

Accessory movement - A joint movement that's necessary for a full range of motion but not under direct control

Closed kinematic chain - Physical activity in which the terminal end of a body segment is involved in functional forces

Contraindication - Any condition that renders a particular line of treatment improper or undesirable

Conversion - An unconscious defense mechanism by which the anxiety stems from intrapsychic conflict is altered and expressed in a symbolic physical symptom (I.e. Pain)

Corticosteroids - Hormones produced by the adrenal cortex

Coupling medium - facilitates the transmission of ultrasound energy from the machine head to tissues

Cryokinetics - Combination of cryotherapy with exercise

Cryotherapy - Technique that uses extremely cold liquids or instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal skin cells that require removal

Dynamometer - Instrument for measuring the force of muscular contraction

Effleurage - Stroking movement in massage

Electrical Simulation - Use of electric current to affect a tissue (I.e. Nerve, muscle or bone)

Friction massage - Systemic therapeutic stroking or kneading of the body

Gate control theory - Hypothesis proposed by Melzack and Wall to explain the highly variable and non-linear relationship between severity of injury and subjective

Ice immersion - Technique for administering cold treatments to distal extremities with a mixture of crushed, flaked, or cubes of  ice with a temperature range of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit

Ice massage - Application of ice for a therapeutic effect

Indication - Sign or circumstance that points to or shows the cause, treatment, or some other aspect of the disease

Iontophoresis - Introduction of ions of soluble salts into the body by electrical current

Isokinetic - Of concentric or eccentric contraction of a muscle in which speed and tension are constant throughout the range of lengthening or contracting

Isometric - Maintaining or on the same length

Isotonic - Of equal tension; denoting solutions possessing the same osmotic pressure

Kinesthesia - Sense by which position, weight, and movement are perceived

Low-Level Laser Therapy - Use of low-intensity light, typically in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum to stimulate body tissues, relieve inflammation and pain

Massage - Systematic therapeutic stroking or kneading of the body

Modality - Form of application or employment for a therapeutic agent or regimen 

Open kinematic chain - Combination of successively arranged joints in which the terminal segment can move freely

Paraffin bath - Dip treatment of hot paraffin wax; commonly used to encourage relaxation, relieve pain, and increase circulation in hands and feet

Petrissage - A manipulation in massage, consisting of kneading of muscles

Phonophoresis - Transdermal introduction of a topical agent into the body using mechanical energy supplied by ultrasound

Physiological movement - Movement normally executed by muscles under voluntary control (I.e. Flexion, extension, etc.)

Proprioception - Perception mediated by proprioceptors or proprioceptive tissues; usually the subconscious levels of the movements and the positions of the body

Radiation - Structure made up of parts that go outward from a center, especially a tract of the CNS made up of fibers that go out in different directions

Rehabilitation - the action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness.

Tapotement - Tapping manipulation in massage

TENS - Act in process of stimulating; condition of being stimulated

Therapeutic - Relating to therapeutics or to treat, remediate, or cure a disorder or disease; tending to overcome disease and promote recovery

Thermotherapy - applying heat to the body for therapeutic purposes

Traction - a pull to the arm or leg muscles to bring a bone back into place when it is dislocated or fractured

Ultrasound treatment - Treatment modality commonly used in physical therapy; used to provide deep heating to soft tissues in the body

Vapo-coolant spray -  Topical cold application sprays