MPT Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Exercise 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Aquatic therapy is advantageous for rehabilitation primarily because water provides:
- Greater gravitational load than land
- Buoyancy to reduce weight-bearing and resistance for movement (Correct answer)
- Only resistance — no unloading effect
- Thermal cooling that reduces muscle activity
Correct answer: Buoyancy to reduce weight-bearing and resistance for movement
Water buoyancy reduces effective body weight (up to 90% at neck depth), allowing earlier exercise with reduced joint loading while providing resistance in all directions.
Question 2: Which physiological adaptation primarily explains strength gains in the first 4–6 weeks of resistance training in a deconditioned patient?
- Muscle hypertrophy
- Neural adaptations (motor unit recruitment and synchronization) (Correct answer)
- Increased bone density
- Connective tissue lengthening
Correct answer: Neural adaptations (motor unit recruitment and synchronization)
Early strength gains are predominantly neural: improved motor unit recruitment, rate coding, and synchronization before significant muscle hypertrophy occurs.
Question 3: Open kinetic chain (OKC) exercises differ from closed kinetic chain (CKC) exercises in that OKC exercises:
- Keep the distal segment fixed
- Allow the distal segment to move freely in space (Correct answer)
- Require greater joint compression
- Produce less isolated muscle activation
Correct answer: Allow the distal segment to move freely in space
In OKC exercises the distal segment (hand or foot) moves freely, allowing isolated muscle activation; in CKC the distal segment is fixed, promoting co-contraction.
Question 4: Deload weeks are programmed into therapeutic exercise plans to:
- Stop progress and reduce fitness
- Allow tissue recovery and prevent overtraining and overuse injury (Correct answer)
- Replace strength training with cardio only
- Test maximum strength levels
Correct answer: Allow tissue recovery and prevent overtraining and overuse injury
Planned deload periods reduce volume or intensity to allow accumulated fatigue to dissipate, enabling tissue repair and supercompensation.
Question 5: Which muscle action is involved when a patient slowly lowers a heavy object from a shelf?
- Concentric elbow flexion
- Eccentric elbow flexion (biceps lengthening under load) (Correct answer)
- Isometric shoulder external rotation
- Concentric elbow extension
Correct answer: Eccentric elbow flexion (biceps lengthening under load)
Lowering a heavy object slowly requires the biceps to control the descent eccentrically — generating force while lengthening to brake against gravity.
Question 6: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) in rehabilitation is used to:
- Reduce swelling only
- Electrically activate paralyzed or weakened muscles to produce functional movement (Correct answer)
- Replace manual therapy
- Increase bone density without exercise
Correct answer: Electrically activate paralyzed or weakened muscles to produce functional movement
FES delivers electrical impulses to nerves or muscles to produce coordinated contractions in paralyzed or weak muscles, facilitating functional tasks like grasping or walking.
MPT Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Exercise 2
Aquatic therapy is advantageous for rehabilitation primarily because water provides: