Fundamentals Exam 1 Flashcards
Major CT in body includes…
Tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bone, muscle
What are the major components of CT?
(1) FIBERS: Collagen and elastin
(2) Ground substance with associated fluid
(3) Cellular substances: fibroblast, cells specific to each CT type
What is ground substance?
Non collaginous components of the extracellular matrix Ground substance is important in overall tensile strength of the tissue
Fibroblasts are called ___ in bone and ___ in artilage
Fibroblasts = osteoblasts in bone, chondrocytes in cartilage
Describe Type I collagen
Type I: Resistance to tension (tensile strength), found in ligaments, bone, dermis, fibrous cartilage, epimysium, perimysium, endomysium, fascia, joint capsule, meniscus, and mature scars
Describe Type III collagen
Type III: Structured maintenance for organs - loosely packed, thin fibrils such as smooth muscle in CV and GI systems
Describe Type IV collagen
Type IV: Support and filtration. Thin amorphous such as basement membrane
Describe Type II Collagen
Type II: Resistance to intermittent pressure; loosely packed, no fibers, very thin fibrils such as hyaline and elastic cartilage, menisci
____ molecules combine to form collagen ___, which is the smallest unit visible on electron microscope. These then combine to form collagen ____.
TROPOCOLLAGEN molecules combine –> collagen FIBRILS –> collagen FIBERS
Describe collagen arrangement in tendons, ligaments, and joint capsule.
Tendon: closely packed, roughly parallel
Ligament: not as parallel as tendon, but more organized than a capsule
Joint capsule: loose weave of interlaced fibers
Collagen aligns purposefully according to ____. [Early/late] movement allows for better alignment and motion of collagen.
Collagen aligns purposefully according to THE DIRECTION OF FORCE OR STRESS. If no activity and no stress is put on collagen, it does not align well and aligns in a disorganized fashion. EARLY movement –> better alignment
Functions of CT
Support (the tissue itself and underlying tissue)
Strength
Repair
Mechanical connector between cells and other structures
Connective tissue provides ___ strength. What does this mean?
CT provides TENSILE strength = amount of stress a tissue can take before it will fail. This is different in different tissues and depends on the organization of collagen, intermolecular bonds, and ground substance
CT is weaker vs. stronger at what part of the tissue?
Weaker at tissue intersurface, strongest in the middle
CT vascularity is generally [good/poor]. What’s the exception?
Vascularity of CT is POOR with the exception of BONE
Neural innervations to CT are [lacking/abundant]. What’s an example? What’s the exception?
Neural innervations in CT are ABUNDANT! E.g. muscle spindle, GTO. Exception: cartilage is not highly innervated
Describe elastin’s role in CT.
Elastin provides elastic properties by their unique cross linking. Allows for stretch and return to resting level. Gives degree of flexibility to CT
Inflammatory Phase... # days? Is it good or bad? Cardinal signs?
INFLAMMATORY PHASE
- 1-6 days
- Good thing! It’s protective and kicks off healing process
- Redness, swelling, pain, loss of function, heat
Inflammatory phase has 4 main parts. Describe each, the goal of each, and duration.
(1) Vasoconstriction: decrease blood loss to area. Short duration
(2) Vasodilation: increase capillary permeability. Lasts up to an hour
(3) Clot formation: platelets are first cells at site of injury. Plts bind to exposed collagen and release fibrin to stimulate clotting and prevent further blood loss.
(4) Phagocytosis: monocytes convert to macrophages when they migrate from capillaries to tissues in wound. Macrophages considered MOST important role in inflammatory phase. Macrophages produce an enzyme called collagenase which removes some of necrotic tissue
Systemic effects of inflammatory phase may include…
Fever, increased WBC count, Tachycardia, increased overall metabolic rate
List the 3 phases of healing.
Inflammatory phase, proliferation phase, maturation phase
List the 4 processes that take place during the Proliferation Phase. What’s the goal of this phase?
GOAL: Achieve coalescence and closure of injured area
- Epithelialization
- Collagen production
- Wound Contraction
- Neovascularization
Epithelialization:
When does it begin? How long?
Purpose?
What happens?
- Begins within a few hours of injury (deeper wounds may take longer to initiate)
- Wound can be clinically resurfaced in 48 hrs
- Purpose: produce a barrier to prevent fluid loss & keep contaminants out
- How? Epithelial cells are normally in contact with each other. When interrupted, they begin to migrate and eventually form a barrier across the wound
Collagen Production. Describe how we get from fibroblasts to collagen fibers.
Fibroblasts generate procollagen which converts into TROPOCOLLAGEN which makes up COLLAGEN FIBRILS which make up COLLAGEN FILAMENTS which make up COLLAGEN FIBERS
Tissue containing newly formed capillaries and myofibroblasts is called ____. This looks ____. It gives new tissue ____.
GRANULATION TISSUE: Newly formed capillaries and myofibroblasts
Gives tissue FLEXIBILITY
Looks red, somewhat swollen
The new tissue formed during collagen production is [strong/not very strong]. It has a lot of collagen content, mostly type ___, giving it ~___% strength of normal tissue.
New tissue is NOT VERY strong. Lots of collagen, but mostly Type III, so strength is ~15% of normal tissue. Very weak.
Wound Contraction
When does this occur? How? Can it go wrong?
Wound contraction occurs 5 days into proliferation phase, peaks at 2 weeks
Myofibroblasts are primary cells. They attach to margins of intact skin and pull it inward.
If contracts too much, can form contractures. Contractures can result from general tissue damage and muscles shortening.
Describe primary vs. secondary unions.
Primary union/intention: wounds rapidly closed during inflammatory stage with sutures
Secondary union/intention: wound goes through all processes and contracts on its own
Neovascularization occurs as a result of ___. How?
Neovascularization occurs as a result of ANGIOGENESIS. Body generates new vascular networks which ANASTAMOSE with preexisting vessels. New growth generally marked by small bud outgrowths (thin, vulnerable to stress)
During the proliferation phase, the scar is ____. Clinically, what does this mean?
Proliferation phase scars are red, swollen, fragile, tender.
Tissue might be hypertrophic, scar can bind down to other tissues. Keep scar mobile, so do scar massage on incision
The remodeling phase lasts how long?
Remodeling phase: healing tissue can continue to strengthen over 12-24 months, but we see most strength of tissue returning in 3-4 months
What happens in the remodeling phase? What’s the desired outcome?
Need to stress CT to strengthen it as it is healing. Goal: maximize strength of healing tissue without over stressing it (it’s a balance!)
When you load a tissue, tensile loads are resisted primarily by ___. These respond by ____. During the elastic phase, they respond in a [linear/exponential] fashion up to ___% elongation. After the load, the tendon ___.If tensile force elongates more than that percentage, ____ changes begin to occur.
Load a tissue and loads are resisted mostly by COLLAGEN FIBERS. These STRAIGHTEN from their resting position. During elastic phase, they respond in a LINEAR fashion and elongate up to 4%. After load, they return to resting length. If tensile force elongates more than 4%, PLASTIC changes begin to occur.
Viscoelastic properties are exhibited by CT. This is a function of the ___. Think it out and describe why. What affects a tissue’s viscoelasticity?
Viscoelastic properties are a function of the GROUND SUBSTANCE. Viscous material is RESISTANT TO FLOW and elastic material RETURNS TO ORIGINAL STATE FOLLOWING DEFORMATION and after force is removed. Viscoelasticity affected by DURATION and RATE of applied load
What is creep?
Characteristic of CT. When load is applied for an extended period of time, the tissue ELONGATES –> permanent deformation. Amount of deformation depends on AMOUNT of force and RATE at which force is applied
E.g. apply 10kg force to leg to stretch hamstring. Might reach 90 degrees before further movement is prevented by tissue. If load is sustained, leg would gradually “creep” a few degrees over a period of time more elongation of hamstrings
What is relaxation, as a characteristic of CT?
Relaxation: when a tissue is pulled to a fixed length, a certain force is required. As tissue is held at this length, the amt of force needed to maintain that length decreases
E.g. apply 10kg force to leg at 90 degrees, less force is needed over time to keep leg at 90 degrees because of relaxation of CT that occurs
Creep and relaxation damage the tissue. True/false?
FALSE: creep and relaxation allow CT to adapt and to fxn in a variety of loading conditions WITHOUT being damaged!
Define stress and strain
Stress = resistance of intermolecular bonds to physical deformation when external loads are applied
Strain = amount of DISPLACEMENT a material undergoes when a force is applied
The stress-strain curve illustrates how, as a force is applied, ____ will deform and in doing so will create an [internal/external] stress/tension.
Stress-strain curve: as force is applied, CT will deform and create an INTERNAL stress/tension
Name the 4 regions of the Stress-Strain curve
Toe region
Elastic region
Plastic region
Ultimate failure point
The toe region defines the part of the stress-strain curve in which soft tissue is in a ___ state and is becoming ___.
Toe region = soft tissue is in a SHORTENED state and is becoming TAUT
Elastic region of stress strain curve =
Tissues stretch and start to elongate, but return to resting state as soon as force is released
Plastic region of stress strain curve =
PERMANENT changes in length of tissue result after sustained applied force
Ultimate failure point of stress strain curve =
Beginning of tearing of various tissue fibers
Stress Strain Curve tenant:
Stiffer material = [steeper/less steep] slope of the curve
More extensible tissue = [steeper/less steep] slope of the curve
The stiffer the material, the STEEPER the slope of the curve.
The more extensible the tissue, the more HORIZONTAL (less steep) the slope of the curve.
E.g. Muscle - smallest slope
Bone - steep slope
Tendon (depends on tendon) tends to be steeper than muscle though not as steep as bone
Ligaments also follow the stress strain curve. They’re recruited (toe range), then all fibers are tight (elastic range), and then in the plastic range, the fibers tightened [first/later] are likely to fail, before progressive fiber failure.
Summary: first fibers to tighten are the first to fail
An increase in temperature in a tissue increases ___.
Increase temperature to increase elasticity of tissue.
Low force applied slowly may cause ___.
Low force applied slowly may cause TISSUE DEFORMATION
High force applied quickly –>
High force applied quickly –> Tissue failure (b/c quick explosive movements)
Moderate force applied in a repetitive manner –>
Moderate force applied in a repetitive manner may cause tissue failure due to cumulative effect of moderate force
What happens to CT with aging?
Increase in tissue stiffness as well as loss of water which alters the makeup of the ground substance. This might result in increase in intermolecular bonds which leads to stickiness and adhesions. This decreases mobility and affects surrounding tissue.
How does immobilization influence CT?
Muscle can lose up to 80% strength after 4 weeks immobilization. Fibers become less organize, ground substance becomes dehydrated; increase in intermolecular bonding, increase in adhesion, decrease in motion
How does inflammation influence CT?
Inflammation –> little movement –> collagen laying down in irregular fashion, so it isn’t strong
To prevent contractures and adhesions with immobilization, CT structures should be placed in a __ position.
LENGTHENED position (whenever possible)
Name 4 strategies for preventing and reducing contractures and adhesions with immobilization
(1) Place CT structures in lengthened position durign immobilization
(2) Introduce stress to immobilized limbs early
(3) Introduce stress by protected motion during healing process
(4) Control/reduce inflammation
Give 2 strategies for preventing and reducing contractures and adhesions (no immobilization)
Stretching and positioning
A slow stretch will allow ___ to more easily deform and elongate.
GROUND SUBSTANCE
Collagen aligns itself in the direction of ____
Aligns in the direction of the FORCE APPLIED. Give Forces in direction you want collagen laid down during remodeling
What is the role efficacy of myofascial techniques and soft tissue mobilization techniques to include deep friction massage to change collagen structure and viability and improve mobility, increase joint range of motion, and scar formation?
It is unproven whether these techniques can break the collagen cross links and allow lengthening and realignment
Regular mobility of affected tissue helps maintain the lubrication and critical fiber distance
Immobilization associated with increased deposition of connective tissue along with loss of water in the tissue (dehydration) and an increase in intermolecular cross linking, further restricting the extensibility of the tissue
What can we do to deter the negative affects that immobilization has on tissue/healing tissue
The use of ____ to increase collagen tissue extensibility, increase enzyme activity, absorb joint adhesions, and reduce fibrous tissue volume and density in scar formation is widely accepted but not proven
ULTRASOUND
Integumentary means ___. Its role in the body is to serve as ____.
Integumentary = pertaining to or composed of skin
Serves as a protective covering
What is integumentary integrity?
The health of the skin, incl. ability to serve as barrier to environmental threats such as bacteria and parasites
What constitutes an integumentary examination?
PT uses integumentary tests and measures to assess effects of a wide variety of problems that result in skin and subcutaneous changes. Determine BASELINE status, RATE OF HEALING/NON-HEALING, presence of EDEMA/ SWELLING/ EFFUSION
Integumentary changes occur due to ___, ____, ___, ___, and a number of diseases
Pressure, venous and arterial problems, ulcers, burns and other traumas
___ is the accumulation of an excessive amount of watery fluid in cells, tissues or serous cavities (extravascular and interstitial tissue)
EDEMA
___ is the escape of fluid from blood vessels or the lymphatics into tissue or cavity
EFFUSION. This is a CONTAINED edematous area (e.g. knee sprain), primarily intracapsular
___ is the clinical manifestation of edema.
SWELLING
What’s the “real” term for bruising?
Eccymosis
Why should we examine the integument?
- Identify circulatory problems
- Assist in locating presence of adhesions (layers of tissue sticking together)
- Determine location of pain/primary problem and acuteness/chronicity of a condition
Steps to test the integument include…
Inspection (visual eval of skin)
Palpation (tissue integrity, temp, moisture, elasticity)
In which part of the SOAP note do you document impairments?
In the OBJECTIVE Examination/Measurements section
Also, the list of impairments can be documented in the ASSESSMENT/evaluation section and considered in Clinical Impression
Name some integumentary changes you may see post trauma or immobilizlation
Presence of atrophy, Shiny/hairless skin (may indicate circulatory problems), Areas of Accymosis
___ pertains to the sheet of fibrous tissue (CT) that envelops the body beneath the skin, encloses muscles and muscle groups, and separates their several layers/groups
MYOFASCIAL
What are some PT indications for myofascial examinations (tests/measures)? What are non PT myofascial issues?
PT Myofascial issues: Hypomobility (secondary to immobilization/inflammation), Postural imbalance, Swelling/edema, Altered skin integrity (scar formation, poor tissue impairment)
Non PT Myofascial issues: Emotional stress pattern (e.g. tight upper traps), Disease
Layer palpation and skin rolls can be used to assess ___
MYOFASCIAL CT tissues
A muscle spasm is defined as [increased/decreased] muscle tension and [length/shortness]. It [can/cannot] be released voluntarily, thus [allowing/preventing] lengthening of muscles involved.
A muscle spasm is defined as INCREASED muscle tension and SHORTNESS. It CANNOT be released voluntarily, thus PREVENTING lengthening of muscles involved.
Summary: muscle spasm basically = muscle cramp
Muscle spasms [do/do not] respond to stretching
Muscle spasms DO respond to stretching!!!
___ is the result of some neurological problem in which there is no inhibition to contraction (nerves send continuous contraction signals).
SPASTICITY
Muscle spasms generally occur as a reaction to ____. Spasticity occurs as a result of ___.
Muscle spasms generally occur as a reaction to INJURY (the spasm is not the primary problem). They’re sustained, involuntary contractions.
Spasticity is result of lack of neural inhibition of muscle and continuous contraction signals (NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEM)
Trigger points are described as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscles associated with ___ and ___ of muscle fibers.
TP = hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle associated with PALPABLE NODULES and TAUT BANDS of muscle fibers
A [latent/active] TP is a focus of hyperirritability in the muscle or its associated fascia that is clinically painful ONLY if palpated. It can have a referred pattern of pain
LATENT TP: only painful if palpated
A [latent/active] TP is defined as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers causing muscular pain. It will refer pain and tenderness to another area of the body when pressure is applied. Pattern of pain is specific to that muscle.
ACTIVE TP: distinct pattern of referred pain, specific to that muscle. Pain is referred when pressure is applied
Describe 4 general TP characteristics.
(1) Tender spots in muscle: palpable tense band of muscle fibers in shortened or weak muscles
(2) Decreased muscle stretch preventing lengthening of muscle
(3) Referred pain with palpation
(4) Specific autonomic phenomena (if occurs, STOP treatment until it resolves!)
Trigger points respond [negatively/positively] to stretching. Summary: [stretch/don’t stretch] a TP!
Trigger points respond NEGATIVELY to stretching! Don’t stretch them! If you stretch and it’s a positive response, likely a muscle spasm not a TP
A differential diagnosis of a TP includes what observations about the area? (Go for 8 total…)
(1) Focal tenderness at TP. Always present, always reproducible.
(2) Palpable taut band in muscle passing through TP. Muscle tissue in vicinity feels dense to palpation
(3) Local TWITCH response can be elicited by pressure to TP [involuntary quick contraction of muscle]
(4) Gentle sustained pressure (10+ sec) reproduces referred pain
(5) Passive or active ROM INCREASES pain
(6) Strong contraction of muscle against resistance increases pain
(7) Direction and location of skin roll is limited
(8) Altered muscle/tendon/ligament integrity
What are interventions for TPs?
Pressure Application (TP Release), Deep transverse friction, Spray and stretch, Injection (physicians), Dry needling
Describe mechanical and metabolic effects of Soft Tissue Mobilization (STM)
Mechanical: increased circulation, incr. soft tissue mobilization and potentially increased ROM, relaxation response, encourage lymphatic flow, break up scar tissue, reduce swelling/edema
Metabolic (more systemic): Increase capillary dilation (secondary to increased circulation), can help increase RBC production, increased platelets, increase urine output (b/c increased fluid movement), help with nitrogen secretion
Soft tissue mobilization can decrease pain via what neurological mechanism?
Gate Control Theory of Pain
List contraindications to Soft Tissue Mobilization
Thrombophlebitis (blood clots: don’t mobilize them), Infection, open wound, New scar tissue, Edema secondary to kidney heart or lymph obstruction; fx site; acute injury [incl. hemorrhage], Autonomic effect (STOP treatment if you see increased sweating, nausea, dizziness. Seen with use in thoracic area)
Soft tissue mobs progresses from __ to ___
STM: progresses from SUPERFICIAL to DEEP
STM is generally not used alone, but can bused along with…
Tissue elongation: muscle energy techniques, stretching, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation; joint mobilization, therapeutic exercises, modalities, etc.
Deep friction massage [does/does not] use a lubricant
Deep friction massage does NOT use lubricant: you don’t want to decrease the friction!
Commercial rubs like Bengay should/should not be used. Why?
SHOULD NOT therapeutically use Bengay. It is a skin irritant: irritates skin (Stimulates cutaneous fibers) to increase circulation. May mask sensory input, increased chance of blistering
Where in the SOAP note do you document soft tissue mobilization?
Under OBJECTIVE section: include patient position, treatment technique, time frame, supplies used.
Assessment: pt’s response to treatment
Plan: any changes to treatment plan
Joint mobilization/manipulation is a manual therapy technique comprising a continuum of skilled [active/passive] movements to the ___ that are applied at varying __ and ___.
Joint mobilization/manipulation is a manual therapy technique comprising a continuum of skilled PASSIVE movements to the JOINTS and RELATED SOFT TISSUE STRUCTURES or BOTH that are applied at varying SPEEDS AND AMPLITUDES, including small amp high velocity therapeutic movement
Joint mob assesses PASSIVE, INVOLUNTARY ACCESSORY MOTION AT JOINT