PHTY304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Contracture, Neoprene, Orthotics
Document Summary
Stretch interventions: aim: used for the treatment of contractures with the aim of maintaining or increasing the rom. Stretch can be applied in three main forms: casting. Used to gain/restore muscle length and provide soft tissue elongation. Casting is indicated when soft tissue contracture is interfering with function or causing potential biomechanical misalignment. not indicated when there are bony changes occurring at a joint. Provides a short-term stretch and is usually required to be repeated at regular intervals and is particularly effective following botulinum toxin injections. Biomechanically, casting imposes a continuous stretch on a group of muscles, leading to an increase in muscle fibre length due to an increase in the number of sarcomeres. This increased muscle length reduces the overall soft tissue contracture. The main purposes of orthoses or splints are to maintain range of motion and assist with function. An orthosis is usually applied at the tolerable end of joint range.
