End of week 3

Saw a lot this week as we finished up our time at Salaya!

First, we saw the outpatient pediatrics department, and worked with several kids, age ranging from 3 months to 22 years. Typically, patients transfer from pediatrics to another department at 18 but can remain with peds therapist upon request. Cerebral palsy seems to be the most common diagnosis with Thai children, as CP was the majority of cases we saw.

The most used treatment was Vojta therapy. We hadn’t had any experience with this, so the therapists explained and demonstrated it for us. It’s a technique that originated in Germany that focuses on applying pressure to certain zones to increase reflex muscle activation in children with dysfunction. It has to be performed 4 times a day, so the therapists have to teach the technique to the parents or caregivers for them to do at home. Several of the patients we saw had been receiving the treatment for multiple years, and the therapists said they’ve made a lot of improvement over the course of the treatment.

The end of this week seemed to be a big presentation day, and we were able to see a study design proposal from a group of fourth year students, and a doctoral defense post-research. It was really interesting to see everyone present and ask difficult questions, all in their second (or third) language. It’s so impressive to see the focus and importance placed on the ability to speak professionally in more than one language.

Lastly, we saw PT in Fitness! This has so far been the most familiar to us, as it was all exercise-centric. The gym looked just like gyms back in the States, with resistance machines and cardio equipment. We saw patients that had former injuries and low pain levels, and some had been coming to fitness therapy for over a year to continue improving strength and endurance. We were able to lead patients through some of our exercises and compare different approaches, which made it a ton of fun.

Only one week left!!