Sensory assessment and intervention Flashcards
What is a functional test?
Touch localisation, 2 point discrimination, stereognosis, proprioception, kinaesthesia
What is a threshold test?
light touch, pain, temperature
What is proprioception?
the awareness of posture, movement and changes in equilibrium and the knowledge of position, weight and resistance of objects in relation to the body
What is kinaesthesia?
the ability to perceive the extent, direction or weight of movement
What is threshold testing?
Looks for the least stimulus needed to elicit responses
What is functional testing?
Assesses the quality of sensation or discriminative sensation.
What are CNS injuries more likely to have deficits in?
Proprioception, stereognosis and temperature awareness
What are PNS injuries more likely to have deficits in?
Pain, touch and pressure awareness and 2 point discrimination
What is sterognosis?
The ability to perceive and recognise the form of an object in the absence of visual and auditory information
What are the 2 different sensory intervention approaches to remediation?
- sensory re-education
2. de-sensitisation
What is sensory re-education used for?
For loss of protective sensation or discriminative sensation
What is de-sensitisation used for?
to reduce hypersensitivity
What compensation method can be used for sensory intervention?
adapt/modify for loss of protective sensation
What is protective sensation?
pain/temp, light touch, pressure
What is discriminative sensation?
localisation, 2 point discrimination
What is the purpose of sensory re-education?
stimulate localisation of sensations, apply graded stimuli over time, use of the affected body part, recognise and match sensations, educate the client to better attend to residual sensory cues so the brain can better interpret sensory messages.
How often is sensory re-education performed?
10-15 mins 4-5 times a day
What is the purpose of desensitisation?
to reduce hypersensitivity and persistent hypersensitivity that limits the use of the body part, may prevent sensory re-education and causes pain/discomfort
How is desensitisation conducted?
graded stimuli
How often is desensitisation performed?
10 mins 3-4 times per day
When is compensation suitable?
With clients who have impaired or lost sensation and cannot feel pain or noxious stimuli and are at risk of injury
What are some compensation methods?
Educate in precautions to protect limbs, avoid exposure to heat/cold and sharp objects
What is hypersensitivity?
Heightened sensation or discomfort in response to ordinary stimuli
What is hyposensitivity?
dullness or reduced intensity of sensation
What is parethesia?
Abnormal sensation eg tingling, pins and needles
What is dermatome?
The area of skin provided by one spinal root and its spinal nerves
What is anaesthesia?
complete loss of sensation
What is kinaesthesia?
ability to identify the direction of joint movement
What is proprioception?
Joint position sense
What is stereognosis?
ability to identify objects through proprioception, cognition and tactile sense
What is neuropathy?
Sensory dysfunction of the PNS
What is hemi-anaesthesia?
complete sensory loss over one half of body
What are the 4 types of sensory injury?
- Cortical injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Peripheral nerve injury
- Sensory processing disorder
