Respiratory Therapy/Respiratory Care
Respiratory Therapy / Respiratory Care
Respiratory therapy, also known as respiratory care, is the treatment given to people who suffer from cardiopulmonary disorders. Respiratory therapy or respiratory care helps patients who have problems breathing brought on by such conditions as COPD, emphysema, or cystic fibrosis that require airway clearance or after surgery since anesthesia may depress respiration. In these instances, a respiratory therapist may undertake the respiratory therapy or respiratory care.
Airway clearance through Chest Physiotherapy to induce coughing can be an important part of respiratory therapy or respiratory care. Chest Physiotherapy (CPT), also called Chest Physical Therapy, combines postural drainage with Chest Percussion. The purpose of CPT is to break up thick secretions caused by respiratory infections. Chest Percussion for respiratory therapy or respiratory care consists of deliberate hitting motions or vibrations.
Postural drainage positions recommended for Chest Physiotherapy when undertaking respiratory therapy or respiratory care consist of lying, sitting or standing in a way that the segment of the lung to be drained is uppermost on the patient’s body. This method uses gravity to move the congestion from the lungs up to the throat.
CPT to treat COPD, cystic fibrosis and other diseases as a form of respiratory therapy or respiratory care can be performed by hand or with the aid of electrical and non-electrical percussors and vibrators, which are less tiring than by hand. The amount of force applied to the chest for respiratory therapy or respiratory care can vary widely with the hand offering gentle tapping compared to electrical and mechanical devices which can provide a wide range force from tapping to hammering, depending on need.
To learn about the differences in power created by devices for respiratory therapy or respiratory care, Med Systems conducted Comparative Pulse Forces Tests on the Electro Flo® 5000 and the Fluid Flo® 2500 by Med Systems and the Flimm-Fighter and Vibracare bby G5. These tests show definitively that the Electro Flo® 5000 and the Fluid Flo® 2500 provide significantly more pulse force than the Flimm-Fighter or the Vibracare.
The strongest, the Electro Flo® 5000, could reach up to 35 lbs of pulse force compared to 19.0 lbs for the Fluid Flo® 2500 the maximum of 13.75 lbs for the Flimm-Fighter or 11.75 lbs for the Vibracare. When Chest Percussion is needed for Chest Physical Therapy as part of respiratory therapy or respiratory care the Fluid Flo® 2500 and the Electro Flo® 5000 offer the greatest range and power.