Visceral Rehabilitation : Theory and Practice
10.2490/jjrmc.50.212
- VernacularTitle:内部障害のリハビリテーション：理論と実際
- Author:
Masahiro KOHZUKI
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
visceral impairment;
hepatic rehabilitation;
exercise;
renal rehabilitation;
cardiac rehabilitation
- From:The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
2013;50(3):212-224
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
Visceral impairment (VI), including cardiac, renal, pulmonary, hepatic, intestinal, urinary and rectal, AIDS is a worldwide public health problem. Recently, the number of patients with VI dramatically increased, reaching 30% of the total population of disabled patients in Japan in 2006, which corresponds to 60% of patients with limb impairment. Visceral rehabilitation (VR) is a coordinated, multifaceted intervention designed to optimize a patient’s physical, psychological, and social functioning, in addition to stabilizing, slowing, or even reversing the progression of the disease, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. VR includes five major components : exercise training, diet & fluid management, medication & medical surveillance, education, psychological & vocational counseling. VR is a feasible, effective (Class I, evidence label A) and safe secondary prevention strategy following VI, and offers a promising model for a new field of rehabilitation. Medical science basically aims to “Adding Years to Life” by increasing life expectancy. Rehabilitation generally aims to “Adding Life to Years” by helping patients with impairment achieve, and use, their full physical, mental and social potential. However, recent growing evidence suggests that rehabilitation for patients with VI not only improves exercise performance and quality of life, but also increases survival. Therefore, modern comprehensive rehabilitation for patients with visceral impairment does not simply aim to “Adding Life to Years” but “Adding Life to Years and Years to Life”, which is a new rehabilitation concept. Urgent efforts should be made to increase the implementation rate of VR.
