PTA Final Exam 2025 Questions and
Answers
Physical agents categories - ✔✔-Thermal agents
-Electromagnetic agents
-Mechanical agents
Thermal agents transfer energy to a pt to increase or decrease... temp - ✔✔tissue
Examples of thermal agents - ✔✔hot packs, ice packs, ultrasound, whirlpool, and
diathermy
Electromagnetic agents apply energy in the form of ... or ... - ✔✔electromagnetic
radiation or electrical current
Examples of electromagnetic agents - ✔✔UV radiation, infrared radiation, laser,
diathermy, electrical current
mechanical agents apply force to increase or decrease ... - ✔✔Pressure on the body
Examples of mechanical agents - ✔✔Water, traction, compression, ultrasound
Effects of physical agents - ✔✔-reduce inflammation
-accelerate tissue healing
-relieve pain
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,-alter collagen extensibility
-modify muscle tone
Choosing a physical agent (level of priority) - ✔✔1 A. Primary underlying problem
1 B. Problem most likely to respond to treatment
2. Treatments that address more than one problem simultaneously
3. Symptomatic treatment only
Attributes to be considered in the selection of physical agents. - ✔✔1. Goals and effects
of treatment
2. Contraindications and precautions
3. Evidence for physical agent use
4. Cost, convenience, and availability
Interventions are generally combined when: - ✔✔-They have similar effects -Address
different aspects of a common array of symptoms (ex: Rest, Ice, Elevation,
Compression)
When are physical agents most commonly used - ✔✔during the initial rehabilitation
sessions
In the US, chronic pain is more expensive to care for than... - ✔✔Diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, and cancer
Pain is defined as... - ✔✔Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with
tissue damage
Is pain conscious or unconscious - ✔✔Conscious (produced and perceived by the brain)
Nociception - ✔✔neural process of encoding noxious stimuli
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, Noxious stimuli - ✔✔mechanical, thermal, chemical
Nociception is modulated by the... - ✔✔Nervous system
Most nociception never results in... - ✔✔Consciously perceived pain
Neuropathy - ✔✔A disturbance of function or pathological change in a nerve
Causes of neuropathy - ✔✔-Medical
-Mechanical
-Idiopathic (cause is unknown)
Nociplasticity - ✔✔The ability of the nervous and immune systems to undergo
functional and structural changes that alter nociceptive processing.
Nociceptive system is composed of... - ✔✔Peripheral and central afferent neurons, and
immune cells
Nociceptive system is responsible for... - ✔✔transmitting and processing nociceptive
input
Nociceptors - ✔✔Primary afferent neurons that transmit noxious stimuli
The afferent nerves that are most reactive to noxious stimuli and produce nociceptive
input are: - ✔✔A delta fibers and C fibers
Another word for primary afferent neurons - ✔✔Peripheral nerves
Peripheral pain pathways - ✔✔-Peripheral nerves project input to the dorsal horn of the
spinal cord
-Signals are organized according to nociceptive function in the spinal cord
-Input is transmitted to multiple areas of the brain
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
Answers
Physical agents categories - ✔✔-Thermal agents
-Electromagnetic agents
-Mechanical agents
Thermal agents transfer energy to a pt to increase or decrease... temp - ✔✔tissue
Examples of thermal agents - ✔✔hot packs, ice packs, ultrasound, whirlpool, and
diathermy
Electromagnetic agents apply energy in the form of ... or ... - ✔✔electromagnetic
radiation or electrical current
Examples of electromagnetic agents - ✔✔UV radiation, infrared radiation, laser,
diathermy, electrical current
mechanical agents apply force to increase or decrease ... - ✔✔Pressure on the body
Examples of mechanical agents - ✔✔Water, traction, compression, ultrasound
Effects of physical agents - ✔✔-reduce inflammation
-accelerate tissue healing
-relieve pain
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,-alter collagen extensibility
-modify muscle tone
Choosing a physical agent (level of priority) - ✔✔1 A. Primary underlying problem
1 B. Problem most likely to respond to treatment
2. Treatments that address more than one problem simultaneously
3. Symptomatic treatment only
Attributes to be considered in the selection of physical agents. - ✔✔1. Goals and effects
of treatment
2. Contraindications and precautions
3. Evidence for physical agent use
4. Cost, convenience, and availability
Interventions are generally combined when: - ✔✔-They have similar effects -Address
different aspects of a common array of symptoms (ex: Rest, Ice, Elevation,
Compression)
When are physical agents most commonly used - ✔✔during the initial rehabilitation
sessions
In the US, chronic pain is more expensive to care for than... - ✔✔Diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, and cancer
Pain is defined as... - ✔✔Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with
tissue damage
Is pain conscious or unconscious - ✔✔Conscious (produced and perceived by the brain)
Nociception - ✔✔neural process of encoding noxious stimuli
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, Noxious stimuli - ✔✔mechanical, thermal, chemical
Nociception is modulated by the... - ✔✔Nervous system
Most nociception never results in... - ✔✔Consciously perceived pain
Neuropathy - ✔✔A disturbance of function or pathological change in a nerve
Causes of neuropathy - ✔✔-Medical
-Mechanical
-Idiopathic (cause is unknown)
Nociplasticity - ✔✔The ability of the nervous and immune systems to undergo
functional and structural changes that alter nociceptive processing.
Nociceptive system is composed of... - ✔✔Peripheral and central afferent neurons, and
immune cells
Nociceptive system is responsible for... - ✔✔transmitting and processing nociceptive
input
Nociceptors - ✔✔Primary afferent neurons that transmit noxious stimuli
The afferent nerves that are most reactive to noxious stimuli and produce nociceptive
input are: - ✔✔A delta fibers and C fibers
Another word for primary afferent neurons - ✔✔Peripheral nerves
Peripheral pain pathways - ✔✔-Peripheral nerves project input to the dorsal horn of the
spinal cord
-Signals are organized according to nociceptive function in the spinal cord
-Input is transmitted to multiple areas of the brain
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA WEST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
