Neurophysiological Facilitation of Respiration (NPF)
Neurophysiological Facilitation of Respiration (NPF)[edit | edit source]
Neurophysiological Facilitation of Respiration is a treatment technique used for respiratory care of patients with unconscious or non-alert, and ventilated, and also with a neurological condition
NPF is the use of external proprioceptive and tactile stimuli that produce reflex respiratory movement responses and that increase the rate and depth of breathing
Indication[edit | edit source]
Contraindication[edit | edit source]
Techniques[edit | edit source]
There are six techniques used in the NPF
- Perioral pressure
- Intercoastal stretch
- Thoracic vertebral pressure
- Co-contraction of the abdominal muscles
- Applied manual pressure
- Anterior stretch-lifting of the posterior basal area (Basal Lift)
Perioral pressure[edit | edit source]
Method[edit | edit source]
The pressure is applied to the patient's top lip by the therapist's finger - and maintained.The pressure maintained the length of time
that the therapist wishes the patient to breathe in the activated pattern. (As a precautionary measure the use of surgical gloves is advised to
avoid picking up a contaminant and/or carrying contaminants from one patient to another.) The
response to this stimulus is a brief (approximately
5 seconds) period of apnoea followed
by increased epigastric excursions. The initial
response may frequently be observed as a large
maintained epigastric swell. As the stimulus is
maintained the epigastric excursions may increase
so that movement is transmitted to the
upper thorax and the patient appears to be 'deep
breathing
Observation[edit | edit source]
- Increased epigastric excursion
- Deep breathing
- Swallowing
- Mouth closure
Mechanism[edit | edit source]
The primitive reflex response related to sucking
Intercoastal stretch[edit | edit source]
Method
Observation[edit | edit source]
Mechanism[edit | edit source]
Thoracic vertebral pressure[edit | edit source]
Method
Observation[edit | edit source]
Mechanism[edit | edit source]
Co-contraction of the abdominal muscles[edit | edit source]
Method
Observation[edit | edit source]
Mechanism[edit | edit source]
Applied manual pressure[edit | edit source]
Method
Observation[edit | edit source]
Mechanism[edit | edit source]
Anterior stretch-lifting of the posterior basal area (Basal Lift)[edit | edit source]
Method
