CALTAGIRONE (CATANIA) – Physiatry, or even more correctly Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, is a specialist medical discipline and is aimed at patients who suffer from motor, cognitive and sphincter difficulties. In short, disability due to the most various pathologies, with particular regard to the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system. The physiatrist does not primarily address the disease-cause. As a rule, the diagnosis and pharmacological or surgical treatment of the underlying disease are mainly the responsibility of other specialists (neurologists, orthopedists, rheumatologists, neurosurgeons). Rather, the physiatrist deals with the functional consequences of musculoskeletal or nervous diseases, or the difficulties they create for the person’s activities and his psychological and emotional state.
And so the most frequent problems within the competence of the physiatrist are the difficulties connected to pathologies of the musculoskeletal system such as the after-effects of hip or knee prosthesis,
lumbosciatica, the results of trauma, arthrosis, inflammatory joint diseases. Even more challenging for physiatrists are the problems posed by speech disorders, swallowing disorders, bladder incontinence, which can follow or accompany a brain lesion, even after any neurosurgical treatment (for example stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease , brain tumor or trauma, inflammatory, vascular, neoplastic or traumatic diseases of the spinal cord). It is important in the area to have one or more references for this discipline and this is why the completion of the transfer of the Functional Recovery and Rehabilitation department of the Presidium of Catania represents a good step forward for the Catania healthcare system.
Santo Pietro in Caltagirone.
The structure, directed by Chiara Castronuovo (her team in the photo), is now fully operational on the third floor, large east wing, of the Gravina Hospital. “It is a reorganization intervention – explains the general director of the ASP of Catania, Giuseppe Laganga Senzio – which resolves various critical issues and responds to precise requests for care planning, also supported by the Rehabilitation Department, with which we aim to strengthen the activity of the department and, at the same time, to optimize the use of professional resources”. At the moment, there are 8 beds activated, but the aim is to increase them in line with regional and company planning forecasts. 4 beds for DH are also added to the inpatient beds. The rehabilitation offer is completed with the gyms and clinics already operational at Gravina.
