Early Passive Range of Motion

Magee (1987) and Downer (1988) note that the provision of range of motion (ROM) exercises early on by professional physical therapists can provide the patient with a wide variety of benefits relative to rate of recovery, degree of recovery, use of medication, use of appliances, overall comfort, and amount of time loss from work, and return to work. Given these numerous benefits, then, the provision of physical therapy can not only benefit the patient but, as well, the insurance company responsible for purchasing health care and the employer whose loss of revenues may adversely affect organization operation and financial standing of the firm. Beyond these, the hospital providing the physical therapy as well as benefits, in that research demonstrates that those patients who receive early, passive physical therapy tend to have shorter hospital stays, fewer office visits with physicians, and shorter office visits with their physicians. This is because the imposition of time-limited arrangements by insurance companies and government payment restrictions make necessary the efficient remediation of patient health care.

The introduction of the prospective payment system (PPS) in 1983 by the federal government changed the Medicare reimbursement system for treatment in an acute care setting (Williams & Torrens, 1984). The previously used retrospective payme

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rence rate for those patients with LBP and sciatica in the first year of treatment. Berquist-Ullman and Larsson reported that 62% of their patients with no previous LBP condition had recurrent or persistent back symptoms one year after an acute back pain episode. Given these statistics, it is not surprising that LBP is the leading cause of activity limitation in those individuals aged 45 or less years. The prevention of recurrences, minimization of disability, and mediation of the effects of acute and chronic pain are the treatment goals that must be addressed by health care providers during the patient's first visit. Overman, et al. (1989) conducted an investigation on the process and outcomes of physical therapist management of 107 patients, versus 67 physician-managed patients, with low back pain (LBP) at a walk-in clinic in a monitored first-contact program. The diagnostic categories entailed LBP without radicular symptoms (without strain, including degenerative disk disease or apophyseal disease); LBP with radicular symptoms or findings (discogenic or stenotic nerve root irritation syndrome); sprain or strain of lumbrosacral area; and "Other" (spondylosis, acquired deformity-scoliosis, rheumatoid variant thoracic spine
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 5899
Approximate Pages = 24 (250 words per page)

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