Modern Intervention Tools for Rehabilitation

By Meena Gupta, Dinesh Bhatia and Prakash Kumar

Modern Intervention Tools for Rehabilitation addresses current advancements in rehabilitation to better equip clinicians and researchers in the field. This resource will equip professionals for better patient outcomes and improve future rehabilitation research quality. An interdisciplinary understanding of the rehabilitation field is crucial for improved patient care and outcomes, with relevance to patient care in other disciplines as well. With chapters dedicated to diagnostics, choosing appropriate techniques, managing medical treatment, and proper equipment care, readers will be well-equipped to decide on protocols, increase patient outcomes, and improve quality of life.

• Discusses experimental results and evidence related to modern intervention tools and techniques for re-education and rehabilitation
• Outlines conventional and recent advancement approaches
• Features individual chapter introductions and summaries to provide a comprehensive introduction
• Describes future perspectives in the field

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Aug 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9780323958530

Meena Gupta

Meena Gupta is PhD in Biomedical Engineering from North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India in 2021. She did post graduation in Physiotherapy (Neurology) in 2010 and graduated in 2007. Currently working as Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Physiotherapy, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. She has more than 15 years in the field of disability and rehabilitation and was selected for the best research award in the field of disability name as Dr. M.B Athray Award in 2016.

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Chapter 1

Introduction

Concept of modern intervention tools

At the time of writing, we hope the devasting COVID-19 outbreak will finally end. International scientific communities consistently protect the public from the disease's clinical, economic, and political consequences. Because COVID-19 is a new disease, the impact on long-term outcomes in survivors is still emerging. A study of the sequelae in COVID-19 survivors' chronic illness is urgently needed. However, in some recent studies, post-pandemic, it is reported that the patients hospitalised with the disease had a new disability after discharge.

Even without a pandemic, the burden of disability is exponentially increasing in the present era. The steady increase in the burden of disease calculated using disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and the recent outbreak has focused on the high rates of illness, chronic pain, and reduced quality of life. When patient outcomes are below optimal, technological advancements rapidly emerge in our society to counter the gap. It directly or indirectly impacts individuals' and society's lives and behaviour. On the one hand, it enhances professionals learning abilities effectively, and on the other hand, it acts as a tool for clinicians and therapists to implement and execute services effectively. Overall, with the help of these advancements in rehabilitation, the client's quality of life has been meaningful and improved. The rehabilitation medicine and healthcare field is rapidly expanding through technological innovation advancements. As a result, many different areas of human health diagnostics, treatment and care are emerging.

Concept and history of rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is a program or process for returning an individual to health after an injury, illness, or addiction. Rehabilitation usually takes the form of therapy sessions. In these sessions, patients perform specific exercises for a fixed period under the supervision of a health professional, typically a physiotherapist or an occupational therapist. The overall goal of rehabilitation is primarily to recuperate a patient from impairment or disability and improve mobility, functional ability and quality of life. This impairment can result from ageing, injury, neurological disease, or neurodevelopmental disorders. Whether these injuries occur in isolation or in combination, they require an interdisciplinary team of specialists and a well-coordinated, integrated, holistic rehabilitation plan. These efforts also help to maximise functional independence; promote patients' highest quality of life, successful reintegration, and active participation in their families and society.

Philosophy of rehabilitation grew significantly during the polio epidemic during the early 1900s and gained international attention when president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, after suffering from lower limb paralysis due to polio, spent time learning how to walk at a unique facility in Warm Springs, Georgia. His-personal success inspired him to purchase and expand the facility, which is believed to be the first such place in the country to specifically provide rehabilitative care. Their return home with limb loss, paralysis, and other physical impairments during World War II necessitated more comprehensive rehabilitative care. In response, the US military established a training program in 1942, which was headed by Dr Howard Rusk (considered the father of comprehensive rehabilitative care).

Rehabilitative medicine takes a team approach that starts during the acute phases of combat casualty care, as previously described. Inpatient teams most frequently include physiatry, physical, occupational, and recreational therapists; dietitians; social workers; rehabilitation counsellors; and speech-language pathologists, case managers, prosthetists, and orthotists. After discharge, patient care continues with outpatient physical and occupational therapy, driving rehabilitation, recreational/motivational therapy, and music/ art therapy. The importance of long-term rehabilitation and the involvement of multi-disciplinary professionals make it practical and financial constraints. Further, due to limited coverage in health care plans, many individuals receive limited or no support to continue rehabilitation or maintain the progress they made in treatment. Technology-based rehabilitation has provided a potential solution that can supplement traditional rehabilitation methods as per the individuals' convenience.

Technological advancements come into existence through the past decades' major health reforms, which should not be overlooked. In the present era, technology can potentially transform the health experience for the better. Incentives need to shift from older financial models that reward hospitals and clinics for expensive procedures and tests rather than for keeping their patients healthier for longer. There are two main types of technological equipment that rehabilitation providers can use: that which has been designed for the general population and that which has been specifically designed for people with special needs. Technology designed for use by the general population has high face validity for clients because of its normal use. It would include home computers, the Internet, palmtops, mobile telephones and, more recently, the potentially helpful global navigational hardware. The use of technology reduces patient hospitalisation times and costs and increases the number of patients who can be treated at the same time. Another positive aspect of modern rehabilitative models is direct and continuous interaction between the patient and health care provider, which increases compliance to treatment and patient safety during rehabilitation