A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) can be used as another modality for lower back pain. The patient will feel the sensation of the stimulator instead of his pain. If the TENS unit seems to work well for him, he will be sent home with one to use at his convenience. Ultrasound is especially useful as a passive therapy for anyone with acute lower back pain. Rheumatoid arthritis patients may feel fatigue. They will likely have a great amount of pain and stiffness in their joints. Physiotherapy is one way to combat the effects of rheumatoid arthritis. This will be an ongoing therapy that will require dedication over the rest of the patient's life. However, it is common that the exercises and other therapies help the rheumatoid arthritis so much that the patient will have incentive to keep doing them. Many people do this at home by lying on a bed and bending the top half of the body over it. The physiotherapist teaches one how to do this so that the lung will drain. Before long, the patient with chronic airways disease will be doing this procedure on his own. The other part of the help for chronic airways disease patients is called clapping. Heel slides are exercises for ACL sports injuries that are easy to understand, but may be painful to do at first. One simply lies on the bed or floor with the foot down. Then, one slides the foot slowly towards the buttocks until it hurts a little, and slides it back. This and the other exercises help prepare the knee for surgery or to heal without it. The physiotherapy assessment will begin when the therapist takes a medical history. This is standard procedure for any type of health related problem. It is wise to be thorough in explaining past problems and conditions that seem to run in the family. This can have a bearing on your treatment. It might even point to some disease or disorder that no one suspected that you had. Back and neck problems are major examples of occupational injury. They happen because of improper lifting, lifting while turning, repetitive turning, or sitting improperly. Workman's comp will probably take care of treatment if the occupational injury is more than a slight one. Carpal tunnel syndrome is often seen in offices.