In years previous to the #COVID pandemic we at Palakkad Cooperative Hospital used this day and weeks around it to raise awareness, plan fundraising via MITRA Trust and re-dedicate ourselves tot he cause of Clubfoot care. Unfortunately there has been a hiatus in our activities for over 2 years.
Clubfoot Care Team at Palakkad District Cooperative Hospital, Palakkad, Kerala, India
This year we are re-starting everything.
What is Clubfoot ?
#Clubfoot is a #congenital#deformity of the foot which can be fully treated in most cases. The children lead a normal life after a successful treatment course.
Events
We will be oraganising events this year after a hiatus of two years to mark this day and re-dedicate our team at #Cooperative#Hospital#Palakkad to cost effective, accessible, state of the art and evidence based #Clubfoot#Care .
Medical Camp for Pediatric Neurology and Pediatric Orthopaedic Disorders
This is my #NFT #Art to raise awareness on #Disability caused by #CerebralPalsy .
Importance of detecting it early and early intervention is stressed. Quite often we find that children are not referred early and treated. This results in very bad deformities that are difficult to mend.
This is part of the #ArztForACause effort by doctors to improve disease awareness among public via 🎨#Art #paintings #nftart https://t.co/OzZUu9FJCh
Cerebral Palsy is such a drastic turn of fortune for any family. The poorer the family, the more challenging. With her back to the closed door, symbolising all the lost life oppurtunities, a mother steadfastly leads her child along the well lit path of medical care with darkness of either side.
This tale repeats with so many children I see in my clinic. It is mind wrenching. Promise of quick cure lures any number of parents from that narrow path to dark streets of quackery and extorsion rackets who promise magical cures.
This is my tribute to so many parents who lead their child along the narrow lit path
Mother Leading a Cerebral Palsy Child
Even when treatment of cerebral palsy is widely available, it is not uncommon to see severe deformities due to improper or delayed referral to a treating centre, lack of awareness of simply neglect. Quite often patients live in far flung villages with poor access to healthcare or broken families compounding the difficulties.
Advanced deformity of the hand in Cerebral Palsy
I have seen that through these storms invariably the mother stands and guides the child unwavering.
#FibularHemimelia #NFT #Art for #WorldDisabilityDay
As part of our #ArztForACause effort to raise awareness of #PediatricOrthopaedic #Diseases and upcoming #WorldDisabilityDay I have made this #Art on #FibularHemimelia
Cerebral Palsy is a tough problem in Paediatric Orthopaedics. The children have spasm, contracture and variety of coordination issues , balancing issues, seizures and other symptoms like tremor, dystonia which makes treatment quite a challenge. This is more so in the younger children where we would like to have a tool that is non invasive and still helps relieve spasm.
Tone Inhibiting casts offer an invaluable tool to control spasm in a very young child that you would want to avoid surgery.
The dosage of surgery in cerebral palsy has to carefully titrated as muscle are inherently weak and over-lengthening can be disastrous.
We try to avoid overzealous initial surgery and but time when possible with plaster casting to reduce muscle spasm.
Tone Inhibiting Casts are a vanishing tool these days in medical professionals’ armamentarium but find it a great tool. In India with cost of Botox injections to relieve being very high and in the class of patients I treat many of who are from poorest strata this is a godsend.
Cast application is done under general anaesthesia so that adequate muscle relaxation is obtained and we take great care for a close , bespoke type fit with good pressure relief over bony prominences. Prevention of pressure sores is very important and technique of cast application – the fit, padding, tightness, joint position, strength of cast all play a role in the final result.
We keep child on physiotherapy all through the time child is on cast to keep up muscle strength and also aid stretching. A cast usually is kept for 6 weeks. Sometimes in severe spasm we have staged application of casts to progressively apply it lesser flexion of joints as the muscle tone decreases.
Medicine is tough. Treatment slow, arduous. I feel for those who wait patiently in crowded poorly appointed waiting rooms, corridors in India’s hospital for the poor. They spend their days here by the loved ones
Back Pain Clinic - Adults and Children, Palakkad, Kerala
Happy to announce that the Spine Clinic for Children and Adults will be functioning on all days except Thursday at Palakkad District Cooperative Hospital & Research Centre, Palakkad, Kerala.
This will cater to all variety of Spine diseases in Children and Adults.
Common diseases like Disc Problems, Infections of Spine ( Septic Spondylitis ) , Tuberculous Spondylitis, Scoliosis, Spina Bifida are treated here.
I am available for consultation on all days except Thursday from 10am to 4:30 pm. Please contact Palakkad District Cooperative Hospital for details and appointment.
My Clinic restart has been delayed due to Covid situation and we have noted that children with fractures are having difficulty getting consult for emergencies.
A speciality Fracture clinic for Children run by Dr. Easwar TR is operating at Malabar Hospital Palakkad.
Treatment is provided for all types of children’s bone problems, sports injuries and fractures. The service is available around the clock in association with Orthopedic doctors at Malabar Hospital, Palakkad.
For Emergencies and Appointments please contact Malabar Hospital for appointments.
Children’s fracture clinic for bone and joint problems, fractures, sports injuries at Malabar Hospital Palakkad Kerala by Children’s Bone Specialist Dr Easwar TR
On #WorldCPDay this year, amid the pandemic, we’ve managed to launch a new rehabilitation facility in association with Karunya MVRC, Palakkad, Kerala, India ( @Karunyamvrc on Twitter )
Kerala State loves Sports, and specially loves Football. We married care for children with Cerebral Palsy and Sports, to setup a one of a kind Adaptive Sports Environment where children would be trained with Physiotherapist’s support by well known Sports Coaches.
Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon’s service is also available to assess these children and triage then into various categories from where they can be rehabilitated.
Our Cerebral Palsy Adaptive Sports Team
Ms. Valarmathi- Physiotherapist
Mrs. Valarmathi- Senior Special Educator
Mr. Ravindran – Retd SI and Kerala, Police state and national team Football coach
Ms. Dhanya Ravi- Change Maker, mentor, PwD, National Award winner in the Role Model Category under Empowerment of People with Disability
Mr. Anudarsan – Director , Karunya Medical and Vocational Rehabilitation Center
Adaptive Sports is a special type of Sports training given to children with special needs by adapting the requirements of sports to the specific difficulty the child faces.
This would often involve some change in rules, some Assistive device support, fall prevention and a completely tailored coaching system to enable the child to play effectively.
Why Adaptive Sports ?
Well known rehabilitation method for Cerebral Palsy is Physiotherapy. Often times children find repeated therapy sessions boring, painful at times and many fall out of care. We’ve seen this happen over the years.
Also, there are several limitations to traditional physiotherapy approach when given as a single rehabilitation modality.
Sports training allows much the same benefits of improved strength, coordination and improvement in function that we get out of Physiotherapy but also improves the quality of Physiotherapy session as the child is a willing participant because of the interest in sports.
What are the special challenges in setting up Adaptive Sports in India ?
Coaching for Adaptive Sports is a patient art and the skill is much in dearth. The Sports coach has to tailor his or her expectation to the unique medical issues of the child and training method is customised accordingly.
Often these children have profound muscle weakness, spasticity ( unusual tightness of the muscles ), contracture, ataxia ( issues with body balance ) and inability to selectively more a body part. These result in delayed improvement a ability to perform in Sports activity. These children need care and support of their team to get ahead.
The coach has to be understanding of all these aspects and train the child.
What have we launched in Palakkad ?
Details about our effort to train children in Adaptive Sports here :
Great program on #rare #genetic #disease at #iccons covering #neurogenetic disorders and it’s genetic basis.
Dr. Anitha PhD, Convenor of the CME on Rare Genetic Diseases speaking at the InaugurationHandbook of Genetics by Dr. Anitha – book release
My talk of Cerebral Palsy and Genetic trends
I will be speaking on #cerebralpalsy and genetic trends this noon. Cerebral Palsy , while not under rare diseases does have some very interesting new genetic trends emerging which promises positivity in the care of these children.
Future Skeletal Dysplasia Clinic
I will also be interacting with doyens in field of Genetics in India and Paediatricians with experience in rare diseases to setup a rare Disease clinic at ICCONS that caters to Skeletal Dysplasia like Achondroplasia, Pseudo-Achondroplasia, Hypochondroplasia, SpondyloEpiphyseal Dysplasia etc..
Many of these disease are rare with rare mutations. Setting up a clinic with many specialists is very important to cater to this group comprehensively.
Today we take baby steps in this directions.
CME Programme for Rare Genetic Diseases
Dr. Anitha’s Book on Handbook of Medical Genetics
Dr. Anitha with her excellent resource book Handbook of Medical Genetics
Extremely happy to announce that we will be inaugurating our new comprehensive Spine & Pediatric Ortho Therapy centre at Palakkad.
Please find the invitation attached.
The rehab centre is fully equipped for Spine rehab, Pediatric Orthopedic rehabilitation with special focus of Pediatric Sports Injuries, Cerebral Palsy and Spine disorders.
Please find attached below the invitation for the event tomorrow, 04/01/2020 along with the services available there.
Malayalam Invitation Note and Brochures
Paediatric Orthopedic and Spine Clinic Announcement
Disability Day programmes we are organising at #ICCONS, #Shoranur, #Kerala
We are covering all levels and types of disabilities with medical camps, parent awareness and other community programmes designed to raise awareness, promote inclusiveness and improve accessibility to services.
This year we have an elaborate programme with Pediatric Orthopedic disability, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Hearing Disability, Genetic Disorders all included in the programme. Please find details below and do share among your groups.
Programme
Attaching the brochure below this with programme details.
International Day for Persons of Disability 2019 International Day for Persons of Disability 2019
Time and Place
Institute for Communicative and Cognitive Neurosciences , Shoranur , Palakkad
October 6th we will join the world at ICCONS, Shoranur , Kerala in celebrating #WorldCerebralPalsy day.
What we are lining up this month ..
We are starting the programme by joining the #GoGree4CP movement to dedicate ourselves to the care of #CerebralPalsy affect children.
We will be lighting up the entire building in green for the entire month and put prominent placards, posters and banners in local language of Malayalam and English to spread awareness about CerebralPalsy among general public.
Lined up after that is our free medical camps in both Paediatric Oethopaedics and Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Paediatrics along with cultural activities, parents education seminars, assistive technology programmes, research on Cerebral Palsy, Counselling for parents and other events.
We have dotted the events across this October to keep the awareness and dedication alive.
Attaching below is a poster and a banner of our medical camp and GoGreen4CP initiative.
Clubfoot Care Team at Palakkad District Cooperative Hospital, Palakkad, Kerala, India
I am happy to announce that we successfully organised a Clubfoot Parental Awareness and Caregiving Programme at the Palakkad District Co-operative Hospital, Palakkad, Kerala on August 31st, 2019. This was done to organise parents into a self support group and to provide parents the necessary group counselling on Ponseti Method of Clubfoot treatment.
We have been organising World Clubfoot Day programmes, Free Medical Camps of Clubfoot and assiting children from underprivileged backgrounds get Ponseti standard of care Clubfoot along with CTEV Foot Abduction Orthosis via our charity trust https://mitratrust.org. We also described out #ArztForACause art and painting fundraiser which is undertaken originally to raise funds for children with Cerebral Palsy and now extended to children with Pediatric Orthopaedic Deformities.
The programme was well attended and was co-ordinated with our Obsterician colleague and all the staff nurses who are part of the Clubfoot Care team who counselled the young mothers on Breast Feeding, Child Nutrition, Clubfoot, Braces and Ponseti Exercises.
We were pleasantly surprised at the turnout on the day as it was organised in short notice. This programme will be followed up more such programmes on Clubfoot ( sometimes called CTEV : Congenital Talipes Equino Varus ) for Staff Nurses and train them in Ponseti Care .
#Clubfoot guide and interactive session for patents at #Palakkad Cooperative Hospital is being organized on August 31st.
The program includes a lecture by me on Clubfoot for parents and a interaction with our Clubfoot Care Team , Orthosis Check, Doubts about casting, checking recurrence of deformity and general clarification on Clubfoot care.
Parents will have an opportunity to interact with other parents exchange their experience about treatment, the issues and build a support community.
Attaching the Program details below. Please call the number for registration.
Clubfoot Parental Caregiving Interactive Session at Palakkad, Kerala
Cerebral Palsy is such a difficult disease to handle and treat for the health care professionals.
The treatment process needs to take the parents and family members along so that these children get optimal care. It’s important to reinforce on the parents and lift their morale throughout the course of long and arduous treatment.
I routinely arrange seminars and medical camps and arrange public events in association with groups serving these children to help them and keep caregiver morale high. It’s a fight, a relentless fight against Cerebral Palsy.
It never ceases to amaze and move me that the mother , however humble or rich , illiterate or well educated, they may be cares for the child and stays with child through thick and thin.
Wacom One CTL and MyPaint on Linux works like it’s a match made in heaven.
My Digital Art on a mother caring for her child with Cerebral Palsy – Drawn using Wacom One CTL 472 and MyPaint Open Source Software.
This painting is part of the #ArztForACause fundraiser for children with Cerebral Palsy , Autism and Movement Disorders
She literally is the guiding light of the treatment, showing the way and proving that she’s the true representative of the all giving , ever loving Divine Mother
A Mother leading and lighting the way of care for her child with Cerebral Palsy – Digital #Art
I am excited to be planning my upcoming project of #Clubfoot (details would be announced soon). As usual I design all my stuff (Little tuning at times from professionals).
This time I have decided to go all alone and paint my own artwork for use with the project.
I decided to go digital.
I used #Wacom One Tablet and #MyPaint #FOSS software. Superb combination.
Dr. Easwar T.R 