Physical therapists will often use abbreviations and terms, which may be confusing to the average person. One may wonder: What is weight-bearing status? What does non-weight-bearing really mean? And what about the corresponding abbreviations such as the WBAT medical abbreviation, the NWB medical abbreviation, or the NWB LLE medical abbreviation? What about the medical abbreviation for LLE or the RLE medical abbreviation?
We’ll go through the alphabet soup of physical therapy medical abbreviations in this post.
The idea of “weight-bearing” in physical therapy includes several abbreviations. However, we must first review the meaning behind weight bearing before diving into the corresponding acronyms.
Weight-bearing, which is the WB physical therapy abbreviation, refers to the amount of weight one puts on an injured body part. It usually refers to a foot, leg, or ankle that has been fractured or has been performed surgery on but it can also refer to resting on a wrist or arm.
The surgeon or treating physician will prescribe an appropriate weight-bearing status grade depending on the patient’s ability level. These abbreviations include:
Below, you will find several other common abbreviations used in physical therapy.
#: Pounds
4WW: Four-wheeled walker
a (with a line over it): Before
AAROM: Active assistive range of motion
ABD: Abduction
AC: Acromioclavicular
ACDF: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
ACJ: Acromioclavicular joint
ACL: Anterior cruciate ligament
AD: Assistive device
ADD: Adduction
ADL: Activity/activities of daily living
AFO: Ankle foot orthosis, (used to treat foot drop)
AICD: Automated implantable cardiac defibrillator
AKA: Above-knee amputation
Amb: Ambulation
A/P: Anterior/posterior
AROM: Active range of motion
B: Bilateral
BID: Twice a day
BKA: Below-knee amputation
c (with a line over it): With
CABG: Coronary artery bypass graft (open heart surgery)
CGA: Contact guard assist
CKC: Closed kinetic chain
C/O: Complains of
CP: Cold pack, cerebral palsy
CPM: Continuous passive motion
CTx: Cervical traction
DB: Dumbbell
DDD: Degenerative disc disease
DF: Dorsiflexion
DJD: Degenerative joint disease
EOB: Edge of bed
ER: External rotation
Estim or ES: Electrical stimulation
EV: Eversion
Ex: Exercise
Ex Lap: Exploratory laparotomy or laparoscopy
Ext (or /): Extension
FIM score: Functional independence level
Flex (or ✓): Flexion
FWW: Front-wheeled walker
Fx: Fracture
GHJ: Glenohumeral joint
HEP: Home exercise program
HKAFO: Hip-knee-ankle foot orthosis
HNP: Herniated nucleus pulposus (herniated disc)
H/o: History of
HOB: Head of bed
Horiz: Horizontal
Horiz ABD: Horizontal abduction
Horiz ADD: Horizontal adduction
HP: Hot pack
HVGS: High-voltage galvanic stimulation
Hx: History
I (or Ind): Independent
I&D: Incision and drainage
IV or (or Inv): Inversion
Ionto: Iontophoresis
IR: Internal rotation
ITB: Iliotibial band
KAFO: Knee ankle foot orthosis
L: Left
LAQ: Long-arc quad
LBQC: Large-base quad cane
LCL: Lateral collateral ligament
LE: Lower extremity
LLE: Left lower extremity
RLE: Right lower extremity
LOA: Level of assist
LOS: Length of stay
LP: Leg press or lumbar puncture acutely
LSO: Lumbosacral orthosis
LTG: Long-term goals
Max A: Maximum assist
MCL: Medial collateral ligament
MD: Medical doctor
MFR: Myofascial release
MHP: Moist hot pack
Min A: Minimum assist
Mm: Muscle
MMT: Manual muscle test
Mob: Mobilization
Mod I: Modified independent
NBQC: Narrow base quad cane
NDT: Neuro-developmental technique (also known as Bobath technique)
NMES: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
NWB: Non-weight bearing
OKC: Open kinetic chain
OOB: Out of bed
PCL: Posterior cruciate ligament
PD: Peritoneal dialysis
PEG: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrotomy
PF: Plantarflexion
Pfin: Paraffin bath
PFS: Patellofemoral syndrome
Phono: Phonophoresis
PICC: Peripherally inserted central catheter
PLIF: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion
PMHx: Past medical history
PNF: Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
Pro: Pronation
PROM: Passive range of motion
PT: Physical therapy
Pt: Patient
PTA: Physical therapy assistant
PUW: Pick-up walker
Q: Every
QC: Quad cane
QD: Every day
QID: Four times a day
R: Right
RC: Rotator cuff
RD: Radial deviation
RICE: Rest, ice, compression, elevation
ROM: Range of motion
Rot: Rotation
RT: Respiratory therapist, or respiratory therapy
RW: Rolling walker
s (with a line over it): Without
SAQ: Short arc quad
SB: Side bending (or Swiss ball)
SBA: Stand-by assist
SBQC: Small base quad cane (also known as a narrow base quad cane—NBQC)
SC: Straight cane
SLR: Straight leg raise
SPC: Single-point cane
STM: Soft tissue mobilization
STS: Sit-to-stand
Sup: Supination
SW: Standard walker
TB: TheraBand
TDWB: Touch-down weight bearing
TENS: Transcutaneous electrical neuromuscular stimulation
THA: Total hip arthroplasty
Ther Ex: Therapeutic exercise
THR: Total hip replacement
TID: Three times a day
TKA: Total knee arthroplasty
TKR: Total knee replacement
TLSO: Thoracic lumbar-sacral orthosis
TLIF: Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion
TM: Treadmill
TMJ: Temporomandibular joint
Total A: Total assist
Trxn: Traction
UBE: Upper body ergometer
UD: Ulnar deviation
UE: Upper extremity
US: Ultrasound
WBQC: Wide-base quad cane
WC (or w/c): Wheelchair
WFL: Within functional limits
WNL: Within normal limits
WW: Wheeled walker