This is a demonstration of the percussion technique. This is only to be done on the advice of your physiotherapist following assessment. My patient is currently inside lying.
In this position you can use the ribs to mark the bottom of the lungs. From here you know where to start your treatment. Place a folded towel over the area you wish to treat.
With a cupped hand and soft wrist you can start your percussion either on the side or the back. Whilst you're doing this you need to ensure that your patient is comfortable throughout and they are not breathless. Percussion should be done between 150 to 200 claps per minute. That's roughly 2 to 3 per second. Once you feel you've done enough for the bottom of the lung, you can then move to the middle of the lung.
Move your towel accordingly. At this point your patient may feel they need to cough and clear, in which case sit them up and allow them to do so. Move on to the middle of the lung, again either on the side or the back, ensuring the patient is still comfortable throughout.
If the patient again feels they need to clear, then allow them to clear. Otherwise, if you feel you've done enough in this area, you can then move to the top of the lung. If at any point during this the patient feels uncomfortable, please ensure that you move away from this area.
Once you've completed one side and the patient has managed to cough and clear, turn the patient to make sure you do the other side as well. Not only can you do it in side lying, you can do it in sitting. Place the towel across the patient and continue your percussion.
You can either do it from behind, working from the base up, or you can do it across the front of the chest.