ATC Rehabilitation Progressions & Outcomes Flashcards
6 cards from real ATC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 ATC Rehabilitation Progressions & Outcomes flashcards as text
Which neurological populations most commonly benefit from warm water's effect on spasticity in aquatic therapy?
Answer: Patients with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, or post-stroke spasticity
Warm water temporarily reduces spasticity in patients with MS, cerebral palsy, and stroke by decreasing muscle tone, enabling improved range of motion and functional movement.
An appropriate short-term goal for a patient beginning aquatic therapy after ACL reconstruction would be:
Answer: Tolerate 20 minutes of aquatic exercise with pain at or below 3/10
Short-term goals in early post-surgical aquatic therapy should be achievable, measurable, and pain-monitored, making pain-limited exercise tolerance the appropriate target.
Why do patients with obesity particularly benefit from aquatic therapy compared to land-based exercise?
Answer: Buoyancy removes the excessive joint loading caused by body weight, enabling comfortable movement
Buoyancy counteracts the excess compressive joint forces that make land-based exercise painful for patients with obesity, enabling therapeutic exercise intensity without joint pain.
The Berg Balance Scale is used in aquatic therapy outcome measurement to:
Answer: Provide an objective measure of postural stability and fall risk over time
The Berg Balance Scale quantifies postural stability through 14 functional balance tasks, providing objective data to track rehabilitation progress and fall risk.
Appropriate discharge criteria from aquatic therapy include:
Answer: Patient has achieved functional goals and can maintain progress independently or transition to land-based therapy
Discharge occurs when the patient achieves their functional goals and demonstrates readiness to maintain gains independently or through land-based continuation.
When an aquatic therapy patient progresses from shallow to deeper water for standing exercises, the PRIMARY biomechanical change is:
Answer: Greater buoyancy force reducing lower extremity weight-bearing
Moving to deeper water increases the buoyancy force acting on the body, directly reducing the compressive load transmitted through the lower extremities.