Physio and Rehabilitation
Effectively improve patient health, functionality, and mobility
Body composition is essential for understanding the patient’s physiological makeup and guiding treatment to target specific areas for improvement in physical therapy programs. InBody devices are non-invasive and convenient, making it the ideal tool to implement into rehabilitation practices. The InBody test provides comprehensive results that can be used to educate and engage patients as well as track improvements throughout the course of physical therapy treatment.
Why is body composition analysis an effective tool in physical therapy?
In less than 60 seconds, the InBody Test provides easy-to-understand, accurate and objective measurements to evaluate the patient’s starting point and monitor progress during rehabilitation. Physical therapists can use the InBody to:
- Assess muscle distribution and target areas weakened by injury or surgery
- Identify fluid imbalances related to inflammation or postoperative edema
- Monitor changes to determine efficacy of an exercise program and guide recommendations to ensure long-term success
Key Assessments
Tailor programs and interventions with segmental lean distribution
Current in-clinic methods of measuring the composition of an injured body segment are indirect while more medically advanced methods limit testing frequency.InBody provides a cost-effective, comprehensive and timely measurement of segmental lean mass, which can be used to identify areas of weakness due to injury or recent surgery and tailor rehabilitation programs to improve functional status.
During the rehabilitation phase after an injury or surgery, increased sedentary behavior and/or immobilization causes loss of muscle in the injured or operated region. By evaluating lean mass in each segment of the arms, legs, and trunk separately, a physical therapist can gather baseline information on lean mass in the segments with restricted mobility. This provides beneficial information for the identification of potential imbalances related to muscle loss post-injury/surgery. By assessing each segment separately, regions of low lean mass development can be targeted and improved. By identifying these imbalances related to immobility and/or overcompensation, functional fitness and mobility can be increased, helping the therapist reduce the risk of future reinjury.
Understanding segmental lean distribution for a patient can help the therapist guide patients back to baseline more effectively. The information from the InBody test can help by providing further insight into a patient’s body composition with the opportunity to provide further analysis of long-term health risks associated with body composition imbalances. Using this information, therapists can set tailored exercise interventions for improving overall health and health risks.
Track inflammation and fluid imbalances from injury or surgery
Following surgery or injury, inflammation can occur with little to no visible symptoms. Objective and precise measures of body water can detect water retention and inflammation to help guide rehabilitation treatment.
InBody effectively distinguishes water in the intracellular (ICW; within the tissues) and extracellular (ECW; within the blood and interstitial fluids) water compartments that comprise total body water. The Edema Index, based on the ration between ECW and TBW (ECW/TBW), can be used to detect fluid imbalances resulting from inflammation due to injury or recovery after surgery.
By assessing fluid balance in the body and by specific segment, inflammation can be identified and used to guide treatment options and intensity to reduce the risk of re-injury or post-surgery complications. These measures are provided for the whole body as well as for each body segment and can be used to identify where fluid imbalances may be occurring for a more precise analysis and an earlier indication of inflammation and recovery. Tracking these values back to normal will aid the therapist by providing additional proof of the success of their programs.
Track trends of patient progress to monitor success of program
InBody’s Body Composition History section allows patients and physical therapists to monitor progress over the course of physical therapy programs. Improvements can be tracked to assess to ensure rehabilitation programs are improving the client’s musculature, body composition, and functionality. Visualization of progress keeps patients motivated and engaged in their treatment plan. Long-term monitoring of ECW/TBW can track decreases in inflammation following the surgery or injury as well as monitor for increases that may be indicative of irritation or overtraining. Negative trends can be identified more effectively and addressed to improve the patient’s long-term health, functionality, and mobility.
Focus on long-term health improvement
Once patients complete rehabilitation and return to their normal routines many begin to reduce physical activity or return to sedentary behavior. This unhealthy habit combined with poor dietary choices increases risk of re-injury and promotes disease. In-depth body composition analysis and easy to interpret results sheets allows for client’s to engage in deeper conversations with their physical therapists regarding their health status and risk for future injury/disease. This can prompt additional services to help reduce these risks.
A large portion of clients suffer from an injury whereas the cause could have been prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle and being more active. By educating clients on body composition and its relation to long-term health, therapists can promote additional treatments/services and keep clients in their programs longer with a goal of long-term health improvement.
Obesity is a large contributor to stress on joints, pain, injury and in extreme cases surgery. By having an in-depth analysis of a patient’s muscle-fat balance physical therapists are able to break down to a client the importance of maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise. Maintaining a physical therapy program not only continues to improve patient outcomes from their initial injury/surgery, it also reduces risk of other health conditions or future injuries from occurring.
Maximize results from physical therapy sessions through diet
After injury or surgery, a patient’s physical activity level is severely reduced; proper nutrition intake is imperative to reduce weight gain and maintain functional health.
Solution: Understanding a patient’s basal metabolic rate can guide nutritional programs, induce faster recovery, minimize fat gain and reduce health risk or postoperative complications.
Following surgery or injury, patients reduce their physical activity level. This increase in sedentary behavior combined with unhealthy eating habits increases risk of muscle loss and body fat increase, both associated with disease and health complications. By having a more precise calculation of the caloric needs of an individual, nutritional guidelines can be applied to minimize weight gain associated with injury or surgery.
Post-surgery, the body is recovering and needs proper nutrition to heal. Incorporating a nutritional program into rehabilitation therapy services can increase rate of recovery, reduce postoperative complications and provide patient’s the energy they require to maximize results from their physical therapy sessions.
Recommended Models
Medical Grade
InBody 770
Body Composition Analyzer
Best for physical therapy
Test results in 60 seconds
Advanced
