Adjunctive Sports Therapies Flashcards

A soccer player receives pulsed ultrasound at 50% duty cycle. Compared to continuous mode, this setting primarily achieves:

Answer: Reduced heat production with retained mechanical effects

Pulsed mode reduces average power output and heat buildup while maintaining non-thermal mechanical effects such as cavitation and acoustic streaming.

Which taping technique uses rigid strapping to provide the MOST mechanical restriction for an unstable lateral ankle in a returning athlete?

Answer: Closed basket weave with heel lock

The closed basket weave with heel lock is the standard rigid athletic taping technique providing maximal mechanical restraint against ankle inversion.

Trigger point dry needling applied to the upper trapezius in a throwing athlete targets the local twitch response primarily to:

Answer: Disrupt dysfunctional motor endplate activity

The local twitch response associated with dry needling disrupts abnormal acetylcholine release at dysfunctional motor endplates, normalizing muscle tension.

Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is used in sports rehabilitation PRIMARILY to:

Answer: Promote muscle hypertrophy with low mechanical loads

BFR training restricts venous outflow, accumulating metabolites that stimulate muscle protein synthesis at loads as low as 20–30% of 1RM.

A gymnast undergoes contrast bath therapy post-competition. The physiological rationale for alternating hot and cold is:

Answer: Vascular pumping effect to enhance fluid exchange

Alternating vasodilation and vasoconstriction creates a pumping effect that aids lymphatic drainage and metabolic waste removal from exercised tissue.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) differs from TENS in sports rehabilitation primarily because NMES:

Answer: Produces visible muscle contractions by exciting motor nerves

NMES uses higher intensity currents sufficient to depolarize motor nerves and produce functional muscle contractions, whereas TENS targets sensory pain modulation.

During cold laser (low-level laser therapy) application on an Achilles tendinopathy, the dosage parameter expressed in J/cm² refers to:

Answer: Energy density delivered to tissue

J/cm² (energy density or fluence) represents the total laser energy delivered per unit area and is the primary dosimetric parameter in LLLT protocols.