Context and purpose. This clinical case describes a patient admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility after the diagnosis of dermatomyositis. The purpose of this case study is to describe a patient diagnosed with dermatomyositis and detail the rehabilitative management provided to improve the patient's functional status. Description of the case. A 30-year-old Caucasian woman was admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility on 10/17/2013. The patient began to develop progressive extremity weakness in May 2013. The patient had progressive muscle weakness, dysphagia, and a mild heliotropic rash, which are common signs of the disease. You hesitate. Measures used include the functional independence measure, manual muscle testing, and range of motion testing. The data obtained from the objective measurements represented the improvements obtained by the patient in the hospital rehabilitation facility. Discussion. There is conflicting evidence regarding the use of exercise to promote muscle function in patients diagnosed with dermatomyositis. However, recent data supports the rationale for the use of resistance exercises, commonly used in physical therapy to combat muscle deterioration associated with the disease. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Physical therapy is an evolving field and with the current push for direct access, physical therapists must have the skills ready to recognize problems beyond their scope of care. Therefore, physical therapists must possess in-depth knowledge in recognizing the signs and symptoms of systemic infection and also be able to refer appropriate medical personnel. Dermatomyositis is a condition that may be encountered by a physical therapist in a direct access situation, as it may ... middle of paper ...... range of motion when performing elbow flexion and extension, supination/ pronation of the forearm, flexion/extension of the fingers/wrists and flexion/extension of the ankle/toe. Knee flexion/extension was also capable of 50-75% knee flexion/extension. The patient remained limited in the proximal extremities, but significantly improved approximately 25-50%. In comparison, objective data illustrates the improvement achieved by the patient in the rehabilitation facility. With the help of a strengthening program the patient improved her ability to eat according to the FIM. In the evaluation of the results, improvements in range of motion and strength were also highlighted, most likely due to the increase in neural recruitment. The patient has been referred to receive further rehabilitation in a home healthcare setting to continue making improvements, however the patient's current status is unknown.