Chapter 65 Positioning
OVERVIEW.
Positioning is the act of placing or arranging.1 In physical rehabilitation, it pertains to the adequate arrangement of patients for a treatment (e.g., postural drainage; pressure ulcer treatment), prevention (e.g., prevention of contractures or pressure ulcers), or function (e.g., optimal wheelchair placement for independent locomotion).
1 Webster’s third new international dictionary. Springfield (MA: Merriam-Webster, 1981.
2 Pierson FM, Fairchild SL. Principles and techniques of patient care, ed 3. Philadelphia: Saunders, 2002.
3 Helm PA, Kevorkian CG, Lushbaugh M, et al. Burn injury: rehabilitation management in 1982. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1982;63:6-16.
4 Crane L. Physical therapy for neonates with respiratory dysfunction. Phys Ther. 1981;61(12):1764-1773.
5 Kisner C, Colby LA. Therapeutic exercise: foundations and techniques, ed 3. Philadelphia: FA Davis, 1996.
6 AHCPR: Pressure ulcers in adults: prediction and prevention, clinical practice guideline no. 3, AHCPR Pub. No. 92-0047, May 1992.
7 Palmer D. What just happened? Massage Bodywork. 2000;15(3):76-81.
8 Thomson A, Skinner A, Piercy J. Tidy’s physiotherapy, ed 12. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1991.
9 Goodman CC. The cardiovascular system. In Goodman CC, Boissonnault WG, Fuller KS, editors: Pathology: implications for the physical therapist, ed 2, Philadelphia: Saunders, 2003.
10 Gardner SL, Lubchenco LO. The neonate and the environment: impact on development. In Merenstein GB, Gardner SL, editors: Handbook of neonatal intensive care, ed 4, St Louis: Mosby, 1998.
11 AHCPR: Treatment of pressure ulcers, clinical guideline no. 15. AHCPR Publication No. 95-0652, December 1994.
12 Nagler W. Vertebral artery obstruction by hyperextension of the neck: report of three cases. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1973;54(5):237-240.
13 Preston DN, Grimes JD. Radial compression neuropathy in advanced Parkinson’s disease. Arch Neurol. 1985;42:695-696.
14 Medical malpractice verdicts, settlements, and experts, December 1999, p 43, loc 3.