Recovering With Active and Passive Therapy
12/02/08 12:24 Filed in: Treatment
When you first sprain your ankle, strain your knee or
hurt your rotator cuff, most of the therapy that you
receive will be passive; recovering from that injury,
however, will in many cases require active therapy as
well. Is one necessarily better than the other? Can
you have both? And, oh yeah, what's the difference
anyway?
Passive therapy gets its name because the treatment of the injury doesn't require forcing the body to work through. Instead, passive therapy includes using heat packs to loosen the muscles and ice packs to help to reduce swelling. In some cases, long term injuries like back pain are treated simply by alternating heat and ice at the location of the pain. In other cases additional therapies are used.
Iontophoresis is a passive therapy in which a steroid cream is applied to the skin and electrical current is applied to the area; the steroids are absorbed through the skin and reduce swelling around the injury. Ultrasound heating can be used as can TENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. With TENS, a low level electrical current is used to override the signal of pain through the nervous system.
Active therapy, on the other hand, involves the patient who is recovering from illness, injury or even surgery taking on a more active role in the process of healing. A combination of some massage techniques as well as targeted exercises serve to help rebuild the muscle, increase strength and improve the range of motion in the area around the injury.
Often, a combination of passive and active therapies are used in order to help with recovery. For example, heat may be applied to the area of the injury to loosen the muscles and make it more comfortable for the patient to follow through the exercises suggested by the physical therapist; icing may take place at the end of the session so that the work that was done becomes less likely to cause more stiffness or swelling.
Similarly, TENS or iontophoresis or ultrasound treatments may be used, especially if the patient is experiencing an increased amount of pain or tightness, or if a new degree of active therapy is to be started. The combination of active and passive therapies – along with, in some cases, massage and manipulation of the area in order to increase the amount of oxygen reaching the cells – can be beneficial to a patient's recovery.
What most people who are recovering from an injury are likely to discover is that, yes, active and passive therapies are often used in conjunction with one another. For minor injuries and for pain management, passive therapies are often enough. For more serious injuries, however, a physical therapist should be consulted to determine the appropriate course of action: passive therapies may be all that are recommended, active therapies may be suggested or the therapist may call for a combination of the two.
Ultimately, each injury is different. Each person who is recovering from an injury will respond differently to treatment. An educated health care provider or physical therapist can evaluate the situation and choose the right course for your needs.
Passive therapy gets its name because the treatment of the injury doesn't require forcing the body to work through. Instead, passive therapy includes using heat packs to loosen the muscles and ice packs to help to reduce swelling. In some cases, long term injuries like back pain are treated simply by alternating heat and ice at the location of the pain. In other cases additional therapies are used.
Iontophoresis is a passive therapy in which a steroid cream is applied to the skin and electrical current is applied to the area; the steroids are absorbed through the skin and reduce swelling around the injury. Ultrasound heating can be used as can TENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. With TENS, a low level electrical current is used to override the signal of pain through the nervous system.
Active therapy, on the other hand, involves the patient who is recovering from illness, injury or even surgery taking on a more active role in the process of healing. A combination of some massage techniques as well as targeted exercises serve to help rebuild the muscle, increase strength and improve the range of motion in the area around the injury.
Often, a combination of passive and active therapies are used in order to help with recovery. For example, heat may be applied to the area of the injury to loosen the muscles and make it more comfortable for the patient to follow through the exercises suggested by the physical therapist; icing may take place at the end of the session so that the work that was done becomes less likely to cause more stiffness or swelling.
Similarly, TENS or iontophoresis or ultrasound treatments may be used, especially if the patient is experiencing an increased amount of pain or tightness, or if a new degree of active therapy is to be started. The combination of active and passive therapies – along with, in some cases, massage and manipulation of the area in order to increase the amount of oxygen reaching the cells – can be beneficial to a patient's recovery.
What most people who are recovering from an injury are likely to discover is that, yes, active and passive therapies are often used in conjunction with one another. For minor injuries and for pain management, passive therapies are often enough. For more serious injuries, however, a physical therapist should be consulted to determine the appropriate course of action: passive therapies may be all that are recommended, active therapies may be suggested or the therapist may call for a combination of the two.
Ultimately, each injury is different. Each person who is recovering from an injury will respond differently to treatment. An educated health care provider or physical therapist can evaluate the situation and choose the right course for your needs.