PT Examination
Key elements of a physical therapy examination includes
- Mental status screening
- consciousness, attention, orientation, and general cognition (e.g., memory, information processing)
- Communication
- includes speech and language disorders
- Motor control
- volitional versus involuntary movements, isolated or synergistic
- Motor learning
- ability sustain motor performance over time, interpret motor feedback, transfer skills to different environments
- Postural control, balance and coordination
- Coordination
- muscle activity during voluntary movement
- muscle groups working together to perform a task (timing, accuracy, sequence) = synergy
- level of skill and efficiency
- start, control and stop according to activity/environment demand
- Gait and Locomotion
- Neuromuscular tone
- Range of Motion and Flexibility
- Integument integrity
- skin observations, pressure areas
- Pain
- Sensation and Sensory Integration
- deep tendon reflexes (DTRs)
- pathological reflex testing
- proprioception
- kinesthesia
- sensory discrimination (sharp & dull, hot & cold, vibration, light touch & pressure, right & left discrimination)
- Cranial nerve integrity
- Peripheral nerve conduction / electromyography (EMG)
- Manual Muscle Testing
- Functional Task and Mobility Analysis
- Protective and Support Equipment
- Standardized Outcome Measures
- Functional Independence Measure (FIM)
- Performance Oriented Assessment of Mobility (Tinetti)
- Functional Reach Test
- Timed Get Up and Go Test
- Timed Walking Test
- Berg Balance Scale
- Barthel Index
- Aerobic Capacity and Endurance
