The International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine for Developing Countries (ISPRMDC) held its third annual conference from July 28 – 31 in Kunming, China. This year, the conference featured a special pre-conference workshop series hosted by LIH Healthcare, conference corporate sponsor. The workshop series was led by a group of internationally renowned rehabilitation experts, who are also members of LIH Healthcare’s Consultant Advisory Board. They discussed 3 trending rehabilitation topics, “Spasticity Management,” “Cardiac Rehabilitation,” and “Motor Control and Learning.” The workshops introduced cutting-edge concepts and included on-site demonstration with the most advanced technology in the field. Focusing on enhancing awareness on how to promote patients’ functional ability and quality of life, the workshop series gained attention from international and local rehabilitation communities.

The first workshop, Spasticity Management, was led by Dr. Gerard Francisco and Dr. Heakyung Kim. Both are well known rehabilitation professionals. Two breakout sessions included “Contemporary Strategies for Post-Stroke Spasticity Management” and “Strategies of Spasticity Control in Cerebral Palsy Children.” Dr. Francisco is the current Director of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Chief Medical Officer of TIRR Memorial Hermann. He is also a clinical professor and Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School. Dr. Kim is the Fellowship Program Director of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine and Director of Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Medicine at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City; she also serves as A. David Gurewitsch Professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center.

”Cardiac Rehabilitation” workshop sessions were led by Dr. Matthew Bartels and Professor Alice Jones, also two very renown rehabilitation experts. The two breakout sessions included “Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine Physician in Cardiac Rehabilitation: Restoration of Function and Health” and “The role of a Physiotherapist in Cardiac Rehabilitation.” Dr. Bartels is the current Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He has also been prominently engaged in the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Association of Academic Physiatrists, Association of American Physicians, and the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation. Professor Jones is an international expert in cardiorespiratory physical therapy; she is currently an Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney.

The “Motor Control and Learning” workshop session was led by Professor Fengyi Kuo and Therapist Ching-Chun Lin. The session was rolled out with a deep dive from theoretical lecture to practical experience. Professor Kuo is currently an occupational therapy clinician at LIH Olivia’s Place, Shanghai, and a visiting professor at Indiana University/IU School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in Indianpolis, Indiana, United States. She also serves on the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)’s Childhood Obesity Prevention and Health Promotion Work Group. Ching-Chun Lin is an experienced physical therapist with extensive clinical and research experience in neurology, pediatrics, orthopedics, geriatrics, and neurocognitive fields. She has previously served as Physical Therapist Lead of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at Zhonghe Memorial Hospital of Kaohsiung Medical School.

ISPRMDC Pre-Conference Presenters and LIH Healthcare Executives

The sponsor of the the pre-conference series, LIH Healthcare, is a leading rehabilitation provider in China, with multiple clinics in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai. In 2016, LIH Healthcare will open Shenzhen LIH Olivia’s Place, followed by Kunming SkyCity Rehablitation Hospital, the first large-scale rehabilitation hospital in southwestern China. LIH Healthcare’s mission to bring best high quality rehabilitation services and reputation for clinical and management best practices has gained the technical support of many national and international experts including the clinical experts represented on the company’s Consulting Advisory Board and Technical Advisory Board, as well as partner organizations including Children’s Specialized Hospital (New Jersey, US) and Montefiore Medical Center, (New York, US).