Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

When provided by a team of experts, Physical therapy helps a patient to move his/her muscle/joint.

Physical therapy services available include

• Electrotherapy
• Physical agent modalities
• Game ready- world-leading equipment used for injury and rehabilitation especially post TKR
• Maxi sky Body Weight suspension for Gait training- for neurological disabled patients. This equipment range is suitable for all ages and abilities, incorporates many features that enhance safety and facilitate walking in the rehab process
• Strength and fitness equipment

The team is experienced in helping patients with preventive training to post-op mobilization.

Is unique in that it helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations)

They treat the patients having various conditions whether they are recovering from injuries or have developmental or cognitive disabilities affecting their motor skills, emotion or behavior.

Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes.

They look not only at the reasons a patient’s participation in activities has been impacted but also at the patient’s roles and environment and suggest the correction/modification accordingly.

OTs work on people to engage in daily life independently and help them to return to work.

Area of work:

• Neuro-rehab
• Paediatric rehab
• Hand injury/function rehab
• Cognitive rehab
• Geriatric rehab

Occupational therapy services typically include:

an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals, customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, and an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan.

Speech- Language and Swallow Rehabilitation focus across all age range at the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Aster CMI Hospital. The department has specialized services mainly focusing on the evaluation and treatment for neurorehabilitation of swallow, speech-language, cognitive-linguistic and communication disorders, rehabilitation of voice disorders including professional voice care and specialized treatment in pediatric speech and language disorders can be availed. Patients affected with neurological conditions like Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Parkinson’s disease, Dementia, Oro-pharyngeal cancer and Swallowing disorders can avail the services. The Speech-Language Pathologist assesses the condition and helps in treatment based on the patient’s needs.

Different disorders treated:

• Delay in speech &language
• Cleft lip &palate
• Mental Retardation(MR)
• Cerebral Palsy(CP)
• Hearing Impairment(HI)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders(ASD)
• Attention DeficitHyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
• Learning Disability(LD)

• This form of therapy helps to promote the recovery of spinal conditions such as disc prolapse (slipped disc), spondylosis and spondylolisthesis. It decreases the chances of acute pain becoming chronic.

Rehabilitation is often recommended for individuals of all ages suffering from sports injury, including:

• Tennis elbow
• Golfer’s elbow
• Meniscus injury
• ligament tears
• Patellar tendonitis
• Achilles tendonitis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Ankle sprain
• Hamstring strain

Rehabilitation is a crucial component to regain full function after surgical procedures. It reduces the risk of re-injury and further complications. It also helps you to gradually return to your work, recreation, and competitive sports more successfully. In this programme, our therapist will provide one-to-one guidance and exercise prescription to each patient.

• Rotator cuff repair
• Total joint replacement (shoulder, hip, knee)
• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction
• Arthroscopic knee surgery (meniscectomy and meniscal repairs)
• Arthroscopic hip surgery (labral repairs)
• Achilles tendon repair
• Neck and back surgery (fusion, laminectomy, decompression)
• Nerve release (cubital tunnel, radial tunnel, carpal tunnel, tarsal tunnel)
• Surgical fixation of fractures of the arms and legs

This comprehensive rehabilitation regimen can help the patient to maximise and regain normal muscle movement and function after a stroke or for neurological conditions such as:

• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Spinal cord injury
• Head injury
• Balance dysfunction
• Bell’s palsy

• Stroke patients can move towards recovery with appropriate intervention in the form of a multidisciplinary approach which includes:
• Mobility/gait training, which involves learning to move with assistive aids, such as a walker or quad stick, or an orthosis (dynamic AFO) to stabilise and assist the ankle. Early standing is facilitated by the tilt table, automatic standing frame. Neurorehabilitation often involves teaching people how to move, talk, think and care for themselves again. Therapists aim to build strength, co-ordination, stamina and confidence in their patients, allowing them to become as independent as possible once again.

• Physical rehabilitation of transplant candidates and recipients plays an important in optimizing physical function prior to transplant and facilitating recovery of function post-transplant. MDT consisting of surgeons, physicians, anaesthetists, transplant coordinators, nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians and social workers – from initial transplant assessment to long term post-transplant care Inpatient physiotherapists (critical care, transplant and surgery teams) involved in immediate post-operative care and ward based rehab.

• Postnatal Rehabilitation is most important right after delivery, and special emphasis is given towards pelvic floor exercises. In this programme, the physiotherapist will guide you through exercises for post-delivery recovery and to reduce the risk of women’s health complications such as stress incontinence, and pelvic girdle and lower-back pain. We will advise you how to care for your back and the correct carrying techniques when taking care of your newborn baby.

• Onco-rehabilitation is designed to restore strength, physical function, and independence that patients may have lost due to cancer or cancer treatment. The physiotherapist will assist and design an exercise regime that can help patients to function at a minimum level of dependency and optimise their quality of life.

• Cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation is suitable for patients with heart and lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia and cardiac arrest (myocardial ischemia). In this programme, we also provide pre- and post-operative rehabilitation for patients who have undergone surgical procedures such as coronary artery bypass, valve replacement, lung resection, angioplasty, cardiothoracic surgery and various abdominal surgeries.We also provide outpatient-based cardiopulmonary rehabilitation for patients who have undergone major cardiothoracic surgery. This programme will help to optimise the patient's functions and help speed up recovery in an effective and safe manner.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is breathing 100% oxygen while under increased atmospheric pressure (up to 3 ATA). This helps to boost the body’s natural healing processes. The treatment is painless. There is no feeling of being squeezed. Our chamber enables patient to breathe in pure oxygen. While undergoing treatment, a person can watch movie or listen to his favourite music or take a nap. Patient may require 1 – 30 sessions and session time vary from 1 to 2 hours according to the type of condition being treated. A medical professional administers each treatment and monitors each patient, before, during and after.

How does it Work?

During HBO therapy due to higher pressure the Oxygen dissolves more in the liquid part of the blood (Plasma) and its level increases 10 – 20 times of normal level. This oxygen reaches all areas of the body also where it was not reaching earlier due to inadequate blood supply or less haemoglobin. This therapy helps as below -

• Improve oxygen levels in body tissue
• Aid healing
• Fight infections
• Promote blood vessel formation
• Preserve or Regenerate damaged tissue
• Reduce effects of toxic substances
• Improve body capability for release of stem cells
• Decreases harmful inflammation
• Increases your energy levels
• Removes Lactic Acid which aids in Recovery from Exercise or workout
• Skin Oxygen levels improve to make you look fresh
• Reduction of Swelling after any bodily injury or sprains during your regular day to day activities

Single Treatment for many Conditions

• Non-healing, Poorly healing wounds anywhere in the body
• Diabetic Foot Wounds which fails to heal after standard treatments
• Radiation Tissue Injury & Side Effects
• Post-Operative Compromised Grafts and Flaps
• Chronic Infections of Bone such as Osteomyelitis
• Post-Operative Fracture Healing and Crush Injuries
• Rehabilitation of Traumatic Brain Injury
• Sports Injuries
• Thermal Burns and Scalds
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Reduction of Fatigue and Pain in Fibromyalgia
• Near Drowning
• Gas Gangrene
• Autism and Cerebral Palsy adjunct to Occupational and Speech Therapy Sessions
• Central Retinal Artery/Venous Occlusion
• Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
• Carbon Monoxide/Cyanide Poisoning, Lyme Disease
• Decompression Illness (The Bends)
• Air/Gas Embolism
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be used along with standard treatment for better healing and early recovery. **

Why to consider treatment with HBOT?

• Heals wounds faster
• Saves limbs
• Reduces hospital stay
• Reduces medical expenses
• Reduces need for repeated surgery