Breathing. I can’t stress it enough. If you’re not breathing, you’re dead… or in a lot of pain… either way, it’s not good. So breathe! In my practice, I work with a lot of different types of patients with a wide variety of conditions and comorbidities, but they all have one thing in common: theyContinue reading “Pressure… Pushing Down On Me…”
Category Archives: basics
It’s Getting Hot in Here: Body Temperature
How many times have you had your temperature taken lately? I think I’ve had my temperature taken thousands of times in the last few months. We are seeing the increased use of forehead scanning thermometers and temporal scanners, all the non-contact forms of temperature assessment, to screen folks for COVID-19 symptoms upon entry to anyContinue reading “It’s Getting Hot in Here: Body Temperature”
I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff… But the Huff Will Be More Effective
What is a huff? Huffing is one of the more difficulty techniques to learn for airway clearance. I find that most of my patients have trouble mustering the strength to perform a good solid huff. It’s not just that it is unfamiliar, but also that it takes diaphragm strength that they just don’t have. ButContinue reading “I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff… But the Huff Will Be More Effective”
Spilling the Box of Pearls: All the Tips on Supplemental Oxygen Management
In my recent post on COPD management, I mentioned that there are some really important parts of supplemental oxygen management that you need to be aware of and consider in your practice. If you are assisting patients who utilize supplemental oxygen regularly, you need to keep these things in mind. You also may be workingContinue reading “Spilling the Box of Pearls: All the Tips on Supplemental Oxygen Management”
A Public Service Announcement: The Chain of Infection (and How YOU Can Break It!)
This post is written for one and all. If you are not a rehabilitation or medical professional, please read this post. Even if you are, please read this post. I’m going to address some things that need clarification. You can have all the opinions you would like, but there are some things that are justContinue reading “A Public Service Announcement: The Chain of Infection (and How YOU Can Break It!)”
Blood Pressure Basics
Are you taking the blood pressure and heart rate of EVERY patient you see for a new evaluation? How about for every visit? A recent survey of over 1800 Outpatient PTs showed that although 51% of PTs reported that over half their caseload had risk factors for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, only 14% of themContinue reading “Blood Pressure Basics”
ABGs (Part II)
So, now that you’ve read all the basics about ABGs in the first post, here is a little more about interpreting lab values and how to determine compensated conditions. This is where it gets fun! First off, let’s take a look at what NORMAL lab values probably look like: pH: 7.35-7.45 Partial pressure of oxygenContinue reading “ABGs (Part II)”
ABGs (Part 1)
This is the first post in a two-part series about understanding and interpreting arterial blood gases! If you want the rest of the post, you’ll have to check back next week! I’m getting real science-y again! So, just a heads up: my undergraduate degree was in chemistry. Kind of by accident, I took a lotContinue reading “ABGs (Part 1)”
Aerosol Generating Procedures
The long awaited clarification on aerosol generating procedures for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants has finally dropped! The APTA just released its professional guidelines for what portions of physical therapist and physical therapist assistant care equates to an aerosol generating procedures, therefore requiring increased PPE for procedure performance to ensure clinician safety. On AprilContinue reading “Aerosol Generating Procedures”
The (Very) Basics of Heart Auscultation
I was seeing a younger man in the home setting after a CABG x3 procedure. When I evaluated him, I was a bit frustrated because he had impaired cognition and had significant comorbidities for a younger man, none of which was in his referral information. Instead, I had the pleasure of just picking up onContinue reading “The (Very) Basics of Heart Auscultation”
