Pediatric Rehabilitation Center

• Robotic-Assisted Walking Therapy for Children utilizing the latest Lokomat™ gait training technology from Switzerland.
• Redcord Physiotherapy for Children to rehabilitate the brain, central nervous system and muscles of child patients with high levels of efficiency.
• Treatment planning by multidisciplinary team consisting of rehabilitative specialists, pediatricians in all fields and relevant interdisciplinary experts to help rehabilitate children to their full potential and capabilities.
• Aquatic therapy pool equipped with salt chlorinator system to ensure the eyes and skin of the children are not irritated. Aquatic therapy helps reduce pain and inflammation of muscles and relaxes patients.

The Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic offers a comprehensive range of physical treatments and rehabilitation services for children. When treating the physical symptoms of a condition, psychological well-being must also be considered. At the Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic, the services are delivered by a team of medical professionals specializing in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hydrotherapy, psychotherapy and speech therapy. All of our specialists have been trained by leading institutions in Thailand and overseas in keeping with Samitivej standards.

Children are not small adults. Therefore, their medication, treatment and rehabilitation should be different. The Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic at Samitivej Children’s Hospital understands the importance of providing pediatric services exclusively by pediatric specialists. As such, to provide appropriate treatment plans, our treatment programs are planned together with the family. These treatments include physical rehabilitation programs for both physical and psychological health for special needs children, including those with Down’s Syndrome, developmental delay, autism, cerebral palsy, limb disabilities, structural disabilities, such as scoliosis, and deformed joints in the hip, knee or foot. The clinic also regularly holds meetings where our medical team of physicians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists for children meet with the children’s parents in order to plan the treatment together. The treatment can vary greatly from child to child, based on what each individual needs from the array of specialties. Individualized and private therapy may include water exercise for children, under the close guidance and supervision of a personal physiotherapist. For children with autism, a team of rehabilitation specialists utilizes Sensory Integration Therapy and the Snoezelen® technique to improve concentration and stimulate learning development.

Robotic-Assisted Walking Therapy for Children

This type of treatment utilizes robotic devices to help restore muscle performance in pediatric patients suffering from problems caused by disorders of the brain, spinal cord, bones and muscles, resulting in muscular weakness of the lower limbs. The condition can be caused by a stroke or spinal cord injuries, as well as by various traumatic accidents. Robotic-assisted gait training can help to motivate patients to begin walking quickly, smoothly, continuously and steadily. This training can effectively stimulate the process of recovery of the nervous system following neurological injuries or disorders. Utilizing the robotic device allows pediatric patients to begin walking and undergo gait therapy much more quickly, which affects stimulation of the sensory nervous system. The therapy therefore plays an important role in rehabilitating patients with brain and spinal disorders.

The intelligent gait training robot is equipped with a FreeD module, a state-of-the-art bodyweight support system, a treadmill and an interactive computer monitor system that allows children to continue their walking therapy without boredom, providing results and information on the progress achieved in each walking physiotherapy session.

The computer monitor system can be programmed to respond to the specific disorder and the needs of each individual patient. The dimensions for walking support can be set at various levels. The system displays the results of each walking practice in real-time. Realistic on-screen images help stimulate individual muscles and thereby motivate and inspire young patients with positive feelings and the desire to engage with the walking and physiotherapy process.

Pediatric Patients Best Suited for Robotic-Assisted gait training

• Pediatric patients with conditions of muscle weakness, such as paralysis due to stroke, brain injury or spinal cord injury, and patients suffering adverse neurological effects due to an accident
• Pediatric patients after surgery
• Pediatric patients with other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease or cerebral atrophy

Treatment that focuses on serious, consistent use of muscles provides far more effective return of motor control in patients suffering from paralysis due to brain and spinal cord disorders. Robotic-Assisted gait training offers great advantages in improvement of walking when compared to traditional physiotherapy.

* Robot-assisted walking physiotherapy is not suited for children with fragile bones.

Redcord suspension exercise system for Children

Redcord suspension exercise system is a highly efficient rehabilitative practice that is suitable for children and adults alike. The system assists patients going through rehabilitation for impaired neuromuscular strength, movement and control that are caused by brain injury, incomplete spinal cord injury and other musculoskeletal damage. Activating and re-educating muscles is paramount to improved outcomes, especially for children faced with such debilitating conditions that can stifle normal growth and development.

Redcord suspension exercise system allows regressions and progressions of neuromuscular reeducation of the whole body. This in turn allows the clinician to make the exercises more challenging in an effort to overcome musculoskeletal instability and pain, and to restore motor control. Additionally, the system facilitates the delivery of a unique physical therapy plan by offering Redcord’s patented “bungee assistance”.

Redcord suspension exercise system is also suitable for sufferers from chronic muscle and joint conditions. The therapy works by stimulating muscle function through suspending and supporting specific points of the body. This will enhance the facilitation of motor control of child patients.

Benefits of Redcord therapy

1. Enables child patients to exercise the various parts of their bodies independently and learn how to use their muscle groups, so that they are able to exercise properly.
2. Helps children to sustain longer periods of physiotherapy, since Redcord therapy reduces pain and muscle inflammation that will lead to improvement of muscle activation, strength and endurance.
3. Suitable for treatment of various chronic health conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and mental disabilities.
4. The suspension and support system help patients to feel relaxed, as Redcord suspension exercise system works according to the body’s natural rhythm

Aquatic Therapy

Aquatic therapy refers to water-based training for child patients who have movement-related issues due to illnesses affecting their central nervous system and muscle function. Aquatic therapy can also be used to help children who have had accidents that have affected balance or muscle functioning capabilities in the arms, legs or core muscle groups.

Aquatic therapy pools are regulated by salt chlorinator systems to avoid any irritation of the children’s skin or eyes.

Benefits of aquatic therapy:

1. Enabling patients to move numerous parts of their bodies independently and thus gaining a deeper understanding of their own body.
2. Recommended to treat various types of chronic health issues.
3. Reducing pain and inflammation, leaving the patient feeling relaxed.

* Aquatic therapy is not suited for children who cannot control their bowel movements.

Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Environments

Snoezelen is a therapy to stimulate the basic sensory systems by placing the patient in a soothing and stimulating environment. Snoezelen therapy includes the use of various devices to give each individual patient, especially children, the opportunity to activate basic sensory stimuli, such as:

These stimuli combine to offer a sensory experience tailored to the child. Experiencing relaxation or arousal can help the child learn and undertake different activities independently, depending on the individual’s sensory reception capabilities.

Snoezelen can assist any of the following groups of patients:

• People with learning difficulties
• Patients with brain damage
• Children with special needs
• Children suffering from chronic pain conditions
• People with mental health issues
• Stroke victims

Benefits of Snoezelen therapy:

• Increasing concentration spans
• Improving social skills
• Improving communication skills and raising awareness of the surrounding environment
• Aiding relaxation
• Decreasing the symptoms of depression
• Reducing fear and helping with boredom

* Snoezelen multi-sensory environment is not suited for children with seizure disorders.

Multidisciplinary Team

The ultimate goal of treatment in pediatric rehabilitation is to balance the child’s body, mind and learning capabilities. A collaborative, multidisciplinary approach is key to the restoration of a child’s abilities.

• Medical evaluation for the appropriate treatment and the prescription of medication to regulate various conditions, such as spasticity, abnormal movement and cognitive issues in children.
• Physical therapy to build strength, improve muscle control, support movement and improve walking capabilities, whether through general physical training or special methods and techniques, such as Vojta and MAES therapies, etc.
• Occupational therapy to improve upper extremities capabilities, cognitive function and swallowing by providing sensory integration training, upper extremities training as well as training of different types of swallowing impairments.
• Special methods such as Snoezelen multi-sensory techniques.
• Speech therapy that trains the muscles related to the oral control and improves speech and communication capabilities.
• Psychotherapist services to improve learning capabilities.
• Manufacturing and servicing all types of prosthetic and orthotic footwear and devices.

Our team philosophy is to be of the utmost importance to the child’s development and well-being. We coordinate closely in the planning, application and achievement of the numerous objectives set out for each individual child to provide a clear and stable route to success.