Sports Medicine is a branch of medicine that uses a different type of therapies to minimize pain, treat injuries and expedite recovery. These combinations of therapies are often categorized into different procedural codes mainly for the purpose of billing. One procedural code that is most popularly used in sports medicine is the 97010 CPT code. This refers to the use of cold or hot packs for physical therapy.
In this article, we will explore this code and help you understand the importance of the procedure and how it is central to the holistic care strategy for individual and athletes who are on the journey of recovery from musculoskeletal injuries.
Meanwhile, you can visit this site: https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/ for more information about sports medicine in general.
What is CPT Code 97010?
This code refers to any physical or tangible agent or object used to produce changes that are therapeutic to biologic tissues. These include but are not limited to electric, acoustic, thermal, mechanical or light energy. This procedure helps to stop or reduce inflammation or pain or improve blood circulation in targeted areas in the body. It is a cost-effective and non-invasive treatment that is commonly/typically used in combination with other types or modalities of physical therapy.
When and Why is 97010 Used?
The application of cold or hot pact is often the first or among the initial steps in physical therapies for sports-related injuries. The choice between the agent to use is dependent on the nature of the injury and the stage of recovery.
- Hot Packs – These are mainly used to help tight muscles to relax, increase the circulation of blood to the area and also enhance the flexibility of the tissues. These heat therapies are perfect for long-standing and persistent conditions or injuries that are gone past the stage of acute inflammation.
- Cold Packs – These are used to minimize swelling, numb pain and reduce the temperature of affected tissue. These therapies are just right for inflammation, severe injuries and soreness from exercise.
These therapies are often used in sports medicine to treat contusions, strains, sprains and post-surgery recovery to enhance healing and pain management.
Clinical Benefits of Hot and Cold Therapy
The following are some clinical benefits of these therapies: –
- Pain Relief – A combination of both therapies provide instant relief from pain by decreasing or increasing activity in the affected nerve.
- Enhanced Mobility – With the application of the heat agents in this combo, the muscles are relaxed and joint flexibility improved.
- Reduced Swelling- Acute injuries oftentimes cause swellings which can be very uncomfortable but cold therapy help to reduce the swelling.
- Improved Circulation – Blood flow to areas under treatment is increased with heat therapy and this helps effective delivery of oxygen and nutrients that enhance recovery.
Most Practices for Documentation
It is very important to have proper documentation when using this code in sports medicine. This is important because the heat or cold therapy code describes the treatment modalities and determines the bill that the patient will get. So, the following are information that must be included in the documentation: –
- Patient Condition – State the condition or injury that is being treated in clear terms; avoid ambiguity.
- Selection of Modality – State the modality that was used (cold or hot packs) and explain why it was used.
- Duration – Document how long the application lasted.
- Outcome – Have a detailed note of the response of the patient to the treatment.
Alternatives and Complementary Treatments
Although we have stated that these modalities of therapies are quite useful in sports medicine, it is important to know that they are often combined with other forms of treatment for maximum effectiveness. Sone of these other treatments include the following: –
- Manual Therapy (97140)- This helps to reduce tension in the muscle and improve mobility.
- Therapeutic Exercises (97110)- This helps to enhance flexibility and strength
- Electrical Stimulation (97014)- This helps to alleviate or minimize pain and stimulate activity in the muscle.
Below is an example of how these treatments/therapies can be combined for maximum effectiveness: –
Case Study Example
An athlete came to the clinic with an ankle pain that was classified as Grade 1 ankle sprain. In the early stages of recovery, the patient was treated with a cold pack (97010) (applied by a therapist) to manage inflammation. Further in the recovery process, the therapist used hot packs to help the muscles around the ankle joints to relax. Finally, the patient was engaged in strength and equilibrium exercises.
This holistic approached helped the athlete to recover fully and resume full in about 3 weeks. Click here for some tips on how to strengthen your muscles.
Conclusion
We clearly stated at the beginning of this article that the use of codes to identify different treatment modalities was mainly for billing purposes. So whenever, you see the code 97010 CPT, you can easily identify what treatment you are being billed for. Although patients may have issues getting reimbursement for these modalities, they are usually very effective.
