Past Issues
May 2012
In neurology there is accurate diagnosis but no treatment. The truth is that neurological treatment mainly consists of physiotherapy, adaptation to enforced changes in posture and movement and reeduction.
Human brain is a fascinating organ and most of us have spent some time wondering how it works. Brain scientists spend their entire lives pondering it, looking for a way to unravel its mystic nature. The brain, after all, is so complex an organ and can be approached from so many different directions using numerous techniques and experimental animals that studying it is a little like entering a dense forest. It’s easy enough to find a way in, but also very easy to get lost. In his book, An Alchemy of Mind - The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain, Diane Ackerman has very imaginatively explained the brain as “Shaped a little like a loaf of French country bread, our brain is a crowded chemistry lab, bustling with nonstop neural conversations. Imagine the brain, that shiny mound of being, that mouse-gray parliament of cells, that dream factory, that petit tyrant inside a ball of bone, that huddle of neurons calling all the plays, that little everywhere, that fickle pleasure dome, that wrinkled wardrobe of selves stuffed into the skull like too many clothes into a gym bag.”
The fact remains, the human brain is truly wonderful and complex, seamlessly and apparently effortlessly able to attend to multiple tasks at the same time. Its billions of nerve cells lie in a tangled web that displays cognitive powers far exceeding any of the silicon machines we have built to mimic it. As a healthcare professional, it becomes all the more challenging to treat and manage the disorders of such an intricate entity. While reading the book Physiotherapy in Healthcare - Need and the Reality by AGK Sinha, I came across a saying by the noted British Neurologist P. W. Nathan who wrote some forty years ago “In neurology there is accurate diagnosis but no treatment. The truth is that neurological treatment mainly consists of physiotherapy, adaptation to enforced changes in posture and movement and reeducation.” The situation has not changed much since then. Most neurological impairments cannot be completely reversed even when the pathological process causing them have been completely controlled. The patients are often left with permanent impairment of movement, sensation and perception. The recovery and maintenance of functional status after non reversible neurological insult very much depend on the skilled physiotherapy. This issue of PHYSIOTIMES Highlights important approaches in neurophysiotherapy to help the readers understand various neurological disorders and their physiotherapy management. We are sure this world help the physios working in the arena of neurophysiotherapy unravel the mysteries of the brain through skillful writings by experts on the areas of relevance in this field.
COVER STORY: An Introduction To Various Approaches In Neuro Physiotherapy - DR. M. G. MOKASHI
A neurological patient and a neuro-physiotherapist : They form a unit and should be considered together. Problems faced by a patient suffering from neurological dysfunction are numerous, not in quantum alone but the depth and human suffering associated with them. Spinal cord and peripheral nerve lesions disturb sensory-motor function in limbs and bladder and bowel disturbances, leaving central nervous system function intact. PNS lesions may pose paralysis as per root distribution ... Read More
REVIEW ARTICLE: The Plastic Brain And Its Rehabilitation - JAYKRISHNAN NAIR
The human brain is an incredible learning machine. It helps us transform ourselves from helpless wiggling neonates at birth to the most dominant living organism in the known universe. Its rich imagination helped mankind to develop technologies that cleverly manipulate the environment and turn it in our favour. It helps us to, consciously perceive the world, make complex decisions, and execute movement commands all at the same time. Human beings were, are and will always be intrigued by this 1... Read More
CASE REPORT: Strength Training: A Treatment Approach For A Person With Chronic Stroke - DR. SAGAR K NAIK
Stroke is the foremost cause of physical disability worldwide. According to Dalal (2008), approximately 20 million people will suffer from stroke each year and of these 5 million will not survive. Due to marked improvements in acute management, number of stroke survivors is on a rise in India, leading to increase disability index significantly. From my own past year experience working with stroke individuals in India, an astonishing figure came to light that out of 12 stroke participants seen... Read More
FEATURE ARTICLE: Neurological Physiotherapy- Exciting Times Ahead - JAMES MCLOUGHLIN
The history of Neurological Physiotherapy stems from the simple discovery that people with neurological disease or injury benefit from physical rehabilitation. A number of NeuroPhysiotherapy approaches emerged in various places around the world throughout the 20th century, each with their own rationale and strategies that could be used to encourage recovery of movement and function in patients with Central Nervous System (CNS) injury or disease. Concepts developed by Karl and Berta Bobath[1],... Read More
GUEST COLUMN: 21st Century Pt: The New PT Departments - MATTHEW J. TAYLOR
Physical therapy departments in academic settings have long been divided into at least 3 primary sections: Orthopedic, Neurologic and Pediatric. That pattern then pervades clinical affiliation choices, continuing education classification, and even the emphasis of this issue of Physiotimes on neurological conditions. Do you find it interesting how we get so comfortable with what is or was, that we no longer even see things and ask why or is it still relevant? I do and I’d like to invite ... Read More
HEALING HANDS: Manual Therapy For Adverse Neural Tension For Duramater And Spinal Cord - PROF.UMASANKAR MOHANTY
PROLOGUE:The adverse mechanical tension of the dura and the spinal cord are very common problems associated with the patients suffering from headache, neck pain, thoracic and low back pain. Dural torsioning, compression and impingement often result in mysterious pain patterns in the spine.If the dural tube is both overstretched and twisted due to from myofascial contractures, bony misalignment or spinal pathology, complex conditions such as migraines, sciatica, thoracic outle... Read More
AQUA CORNER: Bad Ragaz Ring Method - C. G. PRASANTH
I hope you are enjoying the summer with the cool pleasure of water. The essence & importance of water only proves to be elaborate during this season. Well, very soon we will have showers of rain & plenty of water to experience. The breath of first rain on the soil evaporates the heat from earth liberating the fragrance of more beautiful things to metamorphosize in the coming time. Watching the rain sitting from a window is a pleasure in itself. Observing the life around is soon becomi... Read More
FITNESS FUNDA: Dynamic Stretches - A Revolutionary Warm Up Technique - SURAJEET CHAKRABARTY
One of the important factor that create enormous difference in the fitness level in general day today activity and even sports is the level of flexibility. In this area of flexibility enhancement, one of the most used methods is the static stretches, but off late the static stretches have been replaced and a pushed into post exercise methods by a more dynamic technique called as the ‘dynamic stretches’. For a Physiotherapist working with fitness training and sports, it is more imp... Read More
"CAREER GUIDE: Experiences Of Post Graduate Indian Physiotherapy Students In United Kingdom - DEVDEEP AHUJA & MAYANK PUSHKAR"
United Kingdom (UK) has always been a favoured destination for Indian students who wish to undertake higher studies in foreign countries. A recent article in Physiotimes explored and discussed the pathway towards following the dream of obtaining higher education and professional job roles in UK and United States of America (USA)1. Recently due to a significant change in immigration policy by the UK Border Agency, the post study work visa which allowed foreign students to work full time for tw... Read More
JOURNAL SCAN: Critical Appraisal of a RCT by K.Khayambashi ET AL- Gourav Banerjee
Objective: Does isolated hip abductor and external rotator strengthening exercises improve pain, health status, and hip strength in females with PFP? Study Design: A randomized controlled trial.Participants: 28 female participants who had bilateral PFP for at least 6 months and had never received PT were randomized into intervention and control groups.Intervention: The experiment group received 20 minutes of bilateral hi... Read More
BOOK REVIEW: Physiotherapy in Healthcare: Need and the reality - A.G.K.SINHA
The book would serve as a ready reckoner for anyone seeking to be acquainted with the Indian physiotherapy scenario from all perspectives covering myriad of topics and issues simultaneously in an astute and scholarly manner.
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