Introduction to Therapeutic Exercise

Original Editor - Jess Bell based on the course by Richard Jackson
Top Contributors - Jess Bell, Wanda van Niekerk and Kim Jackson

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Introduction

When considering exercise prescription in physiotherapy practice, it is important to understand the difference between therapeutic exercise and general exercise. General exercise is essentially a “work out”. It is exercise for wellness, overall health, appearance, fun, leisure etc.

Therapeutic exercise is specifically for individuals who have a physical problem / impairment, which is often painful.

“Therapeutic exercise is distinguishable from other forms of recreation because it is a purposeful, body-building activity, often prescribed by experts [...], drawing on their knowledge of bodily function to engage in a powerful form of anatomo-politics”.

Rehabilitation professionals must be able to assess, analyse, and determine what is going on to cause a client’s pain or impairment. Exercises are then prescribed in order to address deficits in:

• Mobility / flexibility
• Strength and power
• Neuromuscular control
• Muscular endurance

Why Include Therapeutic Exercise in a Treatment Plan?

Much research exists to support the use of exercise in clinical practice:

• Research supports the use of exercise intervention for long-term changes versus manual therapy alone
• Exercise is supported over any other therapeutic intervention
• Exercise interventions enable individuals to self-manage their symptoms

Table 1 provides definitions for relevant therapeutic exercise terminology.

Table 1. Therapeutic exercise terminology

Term	Definition
Exercise	Rotating joints in specific patterns to challenge muscles
Form	A topography of movement to maximise safety and muscle strength gains
Repetition / rep	A single cycle of lifting and lowering a weight in a controlled manner
Set	Several repetitions one after another without a break
1 repetition maximum / 1RM	The maximum weight that someone can only lift once
Agonist	Prime mover
Antagonist	Opposite function of agonist, can control rapid movement eccentrically
Synergist	Muscle(s) that stabilise(s) a joint around which movement is occurring
Tempo	The speed at which an exercise is performed; the tempo of a movement has implications for the weight that can be moved and the effects on the muscle

Tissue Damage, Pathogenesis, Pain and Performance

Injury and tissue damage causes a disruption in joint biomechanics:

• Pain from an injury or surgery results in a cascade of changes that can cause disruptions to the joint and continual pain for years. This, in turn, leads to degenerative changes such as facet arthritis, accelerated annular degeneration, and nerve root irritation.
• Tissue damage occurs when excessive stress / strain is applied to a tissue (i.e. the force exceeds the strength of the tissue). Injury may occur after a single insult or from repeated loads. Tissue damage leads to motor control problems, and subsequently long-term pain and degenerative changes.

Injures can also result in motor changes. Research has shown that individuals who report significant low back pain experience changes in their motor control systems.

The challenge is to train the stabilising system during steady-state activities and during rapid voluntary motions to withstand sudden surprise loads. However, the presence of pain prevents the re-establishment of “healthy” motor patterns. And just as motor patterns are perturbed by injury, inappropriate motor patterns can also cause injury. Therefore, perturbed motor control systems both cause, and are a consequence of injury.

There is, however, evidence to support the use of therapeutic exercise as an intervention for musculoskeletal injury or pain. It can improve:

• Range of motion, flexibility, mobility
• Muscle activation
• Neuromuscular coordination
• Joint stability
• Strength and power
• Muscle endurance

Progression and Regression Design Principles

When prescribing exercises, it is important to understand how to progress and regress exercises. If patients are improving, exercises can be progressed. However, if they experience an increase in pain/symptoms, it may be necessary to manipulate certain patterns to do more or less. Parameters that can be changed include:

• Sets
• Repetitions
• Speed
• Resistance

Phases of Exercise

• Activation
  • Initially, it is necessary to determine if the patient can activate the muscle / is there a connection between muscle and brain?
• Tissue healing
  • The phase of healing will have a significant impact on which exercises are given LINK TO NEW HEALING COURSE
• Stabilisation
  • Joints are stabilised through muscle
• Mobility
  • As stability increases, range can be added
• Muscle performance improvement
• Advanced coordination and skill
  • Progressively add difficulty in movement patterns to restore normal functional abilities

Teaching Methods for Exercise

• Verbal cues
• Mental imagery
• Visual feedback
• Manual cues

Types of cues to assist in motor learning is discussed in more detail here.

Types of Muscle Contraction

Types of muscle contraction are:

• Isotonic
  • Concentric (shortening)
  • Eccentric (lengthening)
• Isometric
  • Static / holding
• Isokinetic

Eccentric exercise:

• Negative force of a muscle contraction
• Leads to muscle hypertrophy
• Beneficial for tendons
• Causes delayed onset muscle soreness
• Should take no less than 4 seconds

Isometric exercise:

• Muscle contraction without any movemeny / change in muscle length

Concentric exercise:

• Positive force of a muscle contraction
• Used to build endurance and increase tolerance to exercise
• Should take no less than 3 seconds

Concentric vs eccentric:

• Eccentric strength must be greater than concentric strength
• The eccentric load must be greater than what an individual can lift concentrically

Overload Principle

In order to improve strength, increased load must be applied to a muscle. This will increase the muscle's capability:

• Progressively add stress to the system so that it can adapt
• This prepares the body to do more in the future

Preparing the Patient

In order to prepare the patient for therapeutic exercise, please consider the following:

• Educate for success:
  • Discuss how to progress
  • Encourage them to keep going once they have finished therapy
• Set expectations:
  • What is normal muscle soreness?
    • 24-48 hours
  • How often should exercises be performed?
  • How long will it take to make changes?
    • It takes 4-6 weeks to achieve physiological changes in the muscles
    • Neural adaptations take place up to 4 weeks DEL VECCHIO
    • A patient may ‘feel’ stronger sooner than 4-6 weeks

Programme Design

Table 2 provides a summary of the traffic light system that can be used to determine exercise level.

Traffic light	Action
Red light	Movement hurts and may cause further injury Pain before resistance “Hands-off” approach or isometrics
Orange light	Movement does not hurt unless over pressure is applied. Pain at resistance Treat with minumum to moderate manual techniques, exercise before pain
Green light	Pain after resistance Decreased chance to cause further injury Treatment directly; full Go