MENA Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Congress Highlights the Significance of the Field in the Region

Supported by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, and Dubai Health Authority, the MENA Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Congress takes place on 13-15 October 2016 in Dubai, UAE, organised by Maarefah Management. An exceptional panel of regional and international experts participate in this leading congress to discuss the significance of providing specialized medical services in this field to patients with severe diseases including strokes, traumatic brain, and spinal cord injuries.

According to Deborah Pierce, Senior Physiotherapist and Rehabilitation Team Leader at Amana Healthcare and a key speaker at the Congress, “Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI is a serious issue that has only recently started to get the attention it deserves.  Even mild TBI—like concussion from a sporting injury—can have lasting effects on brain function with symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, poor attention/concentration, sleep disturbances, and feelings of depression lasting over a year in 15% of cases.  Our interest at Amana Healthcare is mainly in moderate-severe TBI.  Most of these patients come to us after major trauma and/or neurosurgery and need intensive, trans-disciplinary rehabilitation over an extended period.  Rehabilitation of this kind involves physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and neuropsychologists—among others—and uses a variety of techniquest to take advantage of the brain’s adaptation capacity (or “plasticity”) to restore as much function as possible, especially if the rehabilitation program starts as soon as possible after the injury.”
Dr Michael Kelley, Chief Medical Officer, ProVita International Medical Center, declared the importance of Rehabilitation for Osteoporosis stating "There are many factors contribute to Osteoporosis including vitamin D deficiency in addition to inadequate physical activity. Older people mostly women, in the 60s on up, are those most affected by osteoporosis.

The MENA Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Congress is the main platform in the Middle East in cooperation with the GCC Health Ministers Council, the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ESPRM), Asian Oceanic Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (AOSPRM), and Southern African Neurological Rehabilitation Association (SANRA). The congress aims to cover various fields related to physical medicine including musculo-skeletal medicine, neuro muscular medicine, paediatric rehabilitation, chronic pain rehabilitation and more through dissemination of latest knowledge by leading local and global experts in the field.