Volume 36, Number 1

January 2007

Of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Rehabilitation Physician

Rehabilitation Medicine or Physiatry (as is known in North America) is the medical specialty dealing with “restoration of function in people affected by physical disabilities”. The disease categories with which the specialty is mainly concerned are neurological conditions like stroke and brain injury, spinal injury, musculoskeletal disorders and limb...

Results From a Prospective Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Database: Clinical Characteristics and Functional Outcomes using the Functional Independence Measure

Rehabilitation improves functional outcomes.1 Dedicated rehabilitation facilities employing a multidisciplinary model of care further improve outcome and quality of life compared to rehabilitation in general medical wards.2 With the ageing of the population in developed countries, as well as the increasing prevalence of disability from chronic disease due to...

Botulinum Toxin Type A for Refractory Neurogenic Detrusor Overactivity in Spinal Cord Injured Patients in Singapore

Managing neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) successfully in spinal cord-injured patients is a challenge. In addition to the aims of preserving kidney function by achieving safe bladder pressures so as to reduce the likelihood of upper tract deterioration, acceptable social continence and low urinary tract infection also need to be...

Employment Status Six Months after Discharge from Inpatient Rehabilitation for a Mild-to-moderate Physical Disability

A new physical disability presents unique challenges to the individual, family and community. One of these challenges is employment and productive reintegration of the individual back into their community. A major goal of rehabilitation is returning the individual to their premorbid interests and activities including resumption of work. This article...

Botulinum Toxin for Post-stroke Spastic Hypertonia: A Review of its Efficacy and Application in Clinical Practice

Botulinum toxins (BTX) have revolutionised the management of focal spastic hypertonia in a variety of neurologic diseases. Prior to the introduction of BTX for this purpose in the early 1990s, clinicians were limited to oral spasmolytic agents and nerve blocks using phenol or alcohol. All these interventions are effective...