Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - PMR

• OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
• PROSTHETIC AND ORTHOTIC SERVICE CENTRE

Out Patient Clinic PMR unit1 Tuesday & Friday PMR unit 2 Monday & Thursday Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic Wednesday Haemophilia clinic Thursday Neuromuscular clinic Thursday Pain Clinic Friday Amputee Clinic Monday

The PMR department is a large multidisciplinary team with doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, prosthetists and orthotic technicians, speech therapists, social workers and psychologists. People with disabilities have many needs. The PMR team works together to try to help patients with this team approach.

Some of the problems PMR helps with are:

• Amputations
• Arthritis
• Cerebral Palsy,
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Paraplegia and Tetraplegia
• Stroke
• Cerebrovascular Accidents
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Pressure sores

Special Tests done in PMR

• Electrophysiological studies in the PMR OPD. The studies are electromyographs, EMG, and Nerve conductions tests. They look at the muscles & nerves.
• Ultrasound (USS) tests of the Kidneys and bladder
• Endoscopic evaluations of the Neurogenic bladder – also called cystoscopies or scopies
• Cystometrograms, CMG or urodynamics
• Gait analysis – the movement analysis laboratory looks at how people walk

Subunits of PMR are:

Occupational Therapy: The Occupational Therapists re-educate the patients to do things (activities) to allow them to be as independent as possible. This will include learning to dress, wash, transfer/move from one place to another, cook, write etc. They will help people, when needed, to learn to do things in a new way and things to help them to go back to work. Often, the OT will also need to teach the family as well.

Physiotherapy:Physiotherapy is also called physio or PT. Physios can help people with musculoskeletal problems such as pain in the back, weakness of their legs or problems with co-ordination. A large part of the therapists work is with people with disabilities helping them to walk and teaching home programmes to prevent deterioration.

Speech therapy:The speech therapists help adults and children with communication problems & dysphagia. Communication problems include speaking and hearing and understanding words; reading and writing; slurred speech (dysarthria) etc.Some people are born with speech problems, for example children with cerebral palsy often have slurred speech or other problems. Some adults get speech problems for example after a stroke there can be slurred speech or a problem with speaking. Speech therapists can help these people.

They treat patients in the Outpatient Clinic, in the hospital wards, at the Rehabilitation Institute and in the residential centre for children with cerebral palsy.

Prosthetic & Orthotics – Artificial Limb & splints: The P&O Workshop is in the basement below the PMR OPD in the main hospital (stairs and a lift down by the radiology/xray department). The workshop makes callipers (splints), crutches, upper and lower limb artificial limbs (prostheses - arms and legs), spinal braces, special footwear (eg shoes for people with diabetes or leprosy) and thermo-plastic appliances for patients (special plastic that can be fitted to the hand or leg etc). In the Rehabilitation Institute there is another workshop, which makes plastic artificial limbs plus splints for the Rehabilitation Institute inpatients and also attempts to find new solutions for difficult orthotic & prosthetic problems.