by Dr. Loganathan Venkatachalam
Neurorehabilitation Treatment Modalities
Current neurorehabilitation strategies focus on:
- Recovery from Unconsciousness: Administration of neurostimulator drugs like amantadine and zolpidem to improve awakeness and awareness.
- Monitoring response to medication and therapies.
- Addressing complaints such as muscle tightness through interventions like Botox injections.
- Physiotherapy: Implementing exercise therapy and electrical muscle stimulation to maintain joint mobility and enhance muscle function.
- Occupational Therapy: Targeting cognitive function improvement, upper limb recovery using Neuromuscular Facilitation Technique.
- Speech Therapy: Focusing on oropharyngeal muscle improvement through orometer muscle application and electrical stimulation via Vital stim machine.
- Rehabilitation Nursing: Educating patients on clean intermittent catheterization for spinal cord injuries and bladder time void program for brain injury and stroke patients.
Emerging Neurorehabilitation Innovations
Recent advancements include:
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): Utilizing TMS for targeted brain stimulation to aid recovery.
- Robotic Lower Limb Orthoses: Implementing robotic devices to assist with lower limb movements and gait training.
- Robotic Upper Limb Training: Employing robotic gloves for upper limb rehabilitation.
- Challenges in Implementing New Treatments in India
In India, the adoption of new neurorehabilitation treatments faces challenges, primarily due to:
- Cost of Equipment: Imported equipment for advanced treatments like TMS and robotic devices can be prohibitively expensive.
- Experimental Local Equipment: While experimental local alternatives exist, they have not yet reached commercial availability in the Indian market.
