Question

A nurse is planning care to prevent plantar flexion for a client who is in a coma. Which of the following interventions should the nurse include in the plan of care?

a) Keep the client's feet in a pointed position.
b) Encourage regular range of motion exercises.
c) Apply pressure to the tops of the client's feet.
d) Use footboards at the end of the bed.

Answer 1

The correct intervention to prevent plantar flexion for a comatose patient is the use of footboards at the end of the bed, which helps maintain the feet in a neutral position.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse is planning care to prevent plantar flexion for a client who is in a coma. The appropriate intervention to include in the plan of care would be: d) Use footboards at the end of the bed. Using a footboard, the feet are maintained in a neutral position to prevent plantar flexion, which is the movement at the ankle in which the heel is lifted off of the ground. This helps in preventing the foot from pointing down and maintains proper alignment. Conversely, keeping the client's feet in a pointed position, applying pressure to the tops of the feet, or encouraging regular range of motion exercises without a specific focus on preventing plantar flexion are not direct measures to prevent plantar flexion in a comatose patient. Regular range of motion exercises can be part of overall care, but for the specific goal of preventing plantar flexion, footboards are the precise intervention.