From the New York Times: When to Try Physical Therapy before Surgery

Some sociocultural commentary:Compared to the American population, I’ve found Filipinos are more receptive to starting with conservative therapy first (e.g., physical therapy or the local indigenous “hilot”). Partly because of the financial cost of medical care: the lack of insurance options, and sub-optimal coverage by Philhealth (universal healthcare), and partly because of surgery and strong […]

Curtains Up: Introduction to Performing Arts Medicine

This is a belated post about the recent webinar from the Performing Arts Medicine Association Young Professionals Committee, in which Dr. Mark Seton and I presented the basics of Performing Arts Medicine. From the PAMA. I was going to blog about it sooner, but life got in the way! From the PAMA website:Let’s start at […]

A Holistic Approach to Dancer Wellness

That’s a wrap! Thank you World Dance Alliance Singapore for having us speak about the holistic approach to Dancer Wellness today, January 23, 2022 (Asia). Optimizing dancer health needs to address the physical, emotional and mental aspects of health – while you can focus on just one aspect, we must recognize that all of these […]

Staying Up Late (or Early) for Performing Arts Medicine

Yesterday (more like earlier today – it was 1 AM) I had the privilege and honor to speak to medical students interested in PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiatry, Rehabilitation Medicine) from Chicago. The Chicago PM&R Medical Students Fellowship has a monthly meeting under the mentorship of Dr. Ravi Kasi at Rush University. They usually […]

Performing Arts Medicine Infographics

Performing Arts Medicine #infographics from ballet dancer and #physical therapy student Anika Margarita Ramiro, summarizing how physical therapists (physiotherapists) can keep performing artists healthy. As the mnemonic says in the second photo… BRAVO 🙂 (brava, Anika!) #rehabilitation #PT She references two presentations by myself and Dr. Renald Ramiro, and the paper I co-authored with Dr. […]

Exercise and Dance in Parkinson’s Disease (PD)

In the last blog post, I discussed how Parkinson’s disease can affect function, i.e., how you get through the activities of your day. In this post, I tackle how exercise – as part of a rehabilitation program – helps in Parkinson’s Disease. Rehabilitation in Parkinson’s disease is goal-based. What does that mean? It means that […]

How does Parkinson’s Disease affect function? Or, why can’t I do what I used to do?

What is Parkinson’s disease? I do not want to reinvent the wheel, so I’m going to direct you to this very good explanation from the Mayo Clinic and the Parkinson’s Foundation. How does rehabilitation help? While rehabilitation cannot make Parkinson’s Disease go away, it can help by improving function and enhancing quality of life. To […]

Trans-Pacific Education in Rehabilitation Medicine during the COVID-19 Pandemic

It’s been a busy two months with Rehabilitation Medicine education! Let’s start with the clinical field I am most passionate about. The Philippine General Hospital Department of Rehabilitation Medicine is celebrating its 50th year as a department with Insights: Looking In & Beyond, a monthly webinar series of special topics in Rehabilitation Medicine. I had […]

Inclusivity and disability in the news this week

I saw several pieces in the electronic media this week that highlight the growing efforts to include persons with disability in everyday life. The European Space Agency put out a call for astronauts with physical disabilities – a push for parastronauts to be included in the entering class of 2021. In its own words, the […]