An understanding of the disablement process as well as knowledge of the process of making informed clinical decisions based on evidence from the scientific literature are necessary foundations of comprehensive management of patients seeking and receiving physical therapy services. Provision of quality patient care involves the ability to make sound clinical judgments, solve problems that […]

As shown in , modifying risk factors through an intervention such as therapeutic exercise is an important tool for reducing or preventing the major components of the disablement process. Risk factors related to disablement are influences or characteristics that predispose a person to the process of disablement. As such, they exist prior to the onset […]

The final category of the disablement continuum is disability. There is a growing body of knowledge suggesting that physical impairments and functional limitations directly contribute to disability.Consequently, an approach to patient management that focuses on restoring or improving function may prevent or reduce disability and may have a positive impact on quality of life.
A disability […]

Functional limitations, the third component of the disablement model, occur at the level of the whole person. They are the result of impairments and are characterized by the reduced ability of a person to perform actions or components of motor skills in an efficient or typically expected manner. For example, restricted range of motion (impairment) […]

This first major component of the disablement model refers to disruptions of the body’s homeostasis as the result of acute or chronic diseases, disorders, or conditions characterized by a set of abnormal findings (clusters of signs and symptoms) that are indicative of alterations or interruptions of structure or function of the […]

During the early 1990s physical therapists began to explore the potential use of disablement models and suggested that disablement schema and related terminology provided an appropriate framework for clinical decision making in practice and research. In addition, practitioners and researchers suggested that consistent use of disablement related language could be […]

Several models that depict the process of disablement have been proposed over the past 40 years. The first two schema developed were the Nagi model and the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH) model for the World Health Organization (WHO). The ICIDH model was revised after its original publication, with adjustments made in […]

It has been said that the physical therapy profession is defined by a body of knowledge and clinical applications that are directed toward the elimination or resolution of disability.Understanding the disabling consequences of disease, injury, and abnormalities of development and how the risk of potential disability can be reduced, therefore, must be fundamental to the […]

Almost everyone, regardless of age, values the ability to function as independently as possible during everyday life. Health-care consumers (patients and clients) typically seek out or are referred for physical therapy services because of physical impairments associated with movement disorders caused by injury, disease, or health-related conditions that interfere with […]

The disablement model is distinctly different from the classic medical model, where the emphasis is on treating the specific diagnosis with pharmacology or surgery. The disablement model emphasizes the functional and health status of individuals, with intervention based on improving these aspects of the patient’s condition. The model has four […]