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Borg Scale: Rate of Perceived Exertion
You’re monitoring your patient’s exercise tolerance and need to know if they’re working hard enough to build endurance, but not so hard they’re at risk…
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Vital Signs: BP, HR, RR, Temp, SpO2
You glance at your patient who’s just walked 200 feet in the outpatient clinic. They’re breathing through their mouth, their face is flushed, and they’re…
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Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1): Pulmonary Function Test
You’re in the middle of a patient’s 6-Minute Walk Test when they stop, gasping, “I just can’t catch my breath.” You pull out your pulse…
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Edema: Swelling Assessment and Management
You’re walking the halls of a skilled nursing facility when your patient comments, “My ankles look like balloons today.” You glance down and see edema—but…
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Intermittent Claudication: Vascular Leg Pain
You’re evaluating a 62-year-old patient with a history of hypertension and smoking who reports a tight, cramping sensation in their calves whenever they walk two…
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Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): Blood Clot Precautions
You’re in the middle of a post-op evaluation for a total knee replacement when you notice the patient’s calf is significantly swollen, warm to the…
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Hypertension: Blood Pressure Management in PT
You’re in the middle of a busy outpatient evaluation when your patient mentions they have “a little bit of high blood pressure.” You take their…
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Coronary Artery Disease: Exercise Guidelines
You’re in the middle of a submaximal exercise test when your patient reports unusual chest tightness and becomes short of breath. Is this simply deconditioning,…
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Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): Cardiac Rehab
What is Congestive Heart Failure? Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a chronic, progressive clinical syndrome where the heart cannot sufficiently pump blood to meet the…
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COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Rehab
You’re evaluating a patient for a total knee replacement, but they’re becoming short of breath just walking to the bathroom. Their oxygen saturation drops, and…
