[PD TEST]6th ASEAN Rehabilitation Medicine Association Congress

Dry needle technique relieves chronic upper back pain

The dry needle technique is an effective treatment modality for alleviating chronic upper back pain, new research has shown.

Home-based rehabilitation technologies gain ground

Innovations in home-based rehabilitation technologies are gaining popularity now as alternative solutions to providing health care services to an aging population are being sought. One such innovation is telerehabilitation or the practice of providing rehabilitation services over a distance through the use of information and communications technology such as the Internet. Consultative, preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic services are provided to patients via two-way interactive telecommunication technology.

Interactive learning styles provide optimal learning opportunities

Interactive teaching strategies can improve medical education in rehabilitation medicine, according to Dr. Ian Cameron, chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sydney Medical School - University of Sydney.

Android and Java app introduced for amputee profiling

An application for Android and Java enabled phones called ASCeNT or Amputee Screening through Cellphone Networking was developed by Ateneo Java Wireless Competency Center and Smart Communications, Inc. With a mobile solution for amputee profiling, people from distant areas can be assessed through submitted reports from the application and referred to specialists when necessary; which also makes follow-up care is more convenient. A version for iOS devices is being developed.

Nintendo Wii Sports may help rehabilitate patients

Playing Nintendo Wii^TM may help rehabilitate stroke patients as an adjunct to conventional therapy, a recent study revealed. The investigators conducted a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of virtual reality using Nintendo Wii^TM Sports (Tennis) as an adjunct to the conventional therapy in upper limb stroke rehabilitation in a tertiary hospital. They determined and compared the upper limb gross motor responses among patients with upper limb weakness post-stroke treated with Nintendo Wii^TM tennis as an adjunct to physical and occupational therapy versus conventional therapy alone.

Robot-assisted rehab may be superior to usual therapy