Present and future of rehabilitation medicine

Abstract

Rehabilitation therapy has been positioned as a conservative treatment or postoperative treatment modality for orthopedic diseases. However, due to changes in the disease structure caused by declining birthrate and aging of the population, the scope of this treatment has expanded to include diseases, disorders, and conditions treated by all medical departments. For diseases in the acute phase, it is important that rehabilitation therapy be started as soon as possible, especially since the negative effects of bed rest and the benefits of exercise have become clear. In recovery-phase rehabilitation wards, treatment outcomes and return-to-home rates are directly associated with the facility criteria; thus, improvement in the quality of care is warranted. The growing use of electrical and magnetic stimulation therapy and robot-assisted training methods has made it possible to provide more efficient treatments than before. In addition, proof studies for telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being conducted, and their practical applications are expected. Increase in life expectancy and changes in demographic composition are expected to bring about major changes in the healthcare environment in Japan. The incidence rates of pneumonia and bone fractures among the elderly are expected to increase, and unless the daily lives of these patients are restored as soon as possible, medical resources could become tighter. Under these circumstances, the importance of rehabilitation practice is expected to grow.