India

Hima Dalal, OTR/L, AIOTA, has a dream. It is to see the United States and other industrialized Western nations embrace the ancient therapy practices of her native India. “I would like to acquaint the world – Americans in particular- with the heritage of rehabilitation that India has to offer, approaches such as acupressure, yoga techniques that I believe have therapeutic value.” says Dalal. “These approaches have been in existence for 5000 years. The value of using them is that you, the therapist, must become very involved with the patient, providing to the patient considerable personal attention. By contrast, technology cannot deliver the kind of psychological comfort found in human touch.”

Dalal, who studied occupational therapy at the University of Bombay before moving to the US in 1980, is a former employee of University Hospital I Cleveland, Ohio. She worked there with patients afflicted by neurologic disorders, orthopedic problems, brain injuries, and back dysfunctions, among other conditions. During her tenure with the hospital, Dalal's primary focus was the rehabilitation of adult, geriatric, and pediatric patients who had undergone reconstructive surgery. She also conducted considerable research.

Dalal later entered private practice in Ohio. She returned to India in 1992 and established a general rehab clinic. She mainly treats patients suffering from bone fractures and hand injuries, but her caseload includes a sizable group of neurologic disorder and brain injury patients.

Dalal has been attempting to introduce her American colleagues to India's traditional forms of healing. Their response so far has been reserved. Dalal speculates that the reason may be that American have too much confidence in technology and not enough I their own abilities. To one extent, this is the fault of patients and their unrealistic expectations, she says. “Patients in the United States feel that unless you treat them by using high-technology equipment, they're not going to get well,” she says. “This only serves to encourage therapists to rely too heavily on technology.”

Interest in American Technology
While therapists I the United States have been aloof to the notion of using approaches to rehabilitation rooted in mysticism, their counterparts in India are enthusiastic toward technology from America. “We very much welcome US innovation [in India],” Dalal says. “There is no resistance to it.”

Yet, if the ancient approaches are beneficial, why would India's therapists need or even want advanced technology? Dalal explains that acupressure, yoga, and relaxation techniques can only take a patient so far along the road to recovery. Beyond that point, viable technology is required.

“The ancient techniques have their limitations,” she admits. “I think that what is needed in India and the United States is wide acceptance of high technology, used in combination with the ancient ways.”

With this goal in mind, Dalal is organizing an international conference to address the issue of merging Western technology with Eastern tradition. It will be held in January 1995 I the cities of Bombay and Delhi. Named the International Conference on Rehab Medical Sciences, the 10-day event is expected to feature speakers from India, the United States, and other nations. The conference will deal with a range of occupational and physical therapy issues, including pain management, industrial rehab, arthritis, stroke rehab, and cardiopulmonary rehab. A planned highlight of the conference – which includes tours of the Taj Mahal and other scenic wonders – will be a visit to the Jaipur Artificial Limb Center, where novel approaches to the manufacture and fitting of prosthetic legs allow wearers to squat, and even sit lotus-style, with impressive ease.

“This is not just a conference to discuss the merits of ancient methodologies,” Dalal says. “It is a gathering that takes full advantage of India's new international trade policy, which has opened many doors in the medical rehabilitation field, especially in the areas of electrical modalities, splinting, activities of daily living supplies, and fitness equipment.”

Following the conference, Dalal says she intend to host workshops every quarter in the United States, where she visits frequently in her role as a recruiter of Indian occupational therapists seeking employment in America. The workshops will expand o the themes developed at the conference. “The conference and the workshops will help increase understanding of the new and the old, and for that reason, I think they will be quite valuable to the profession,” she says.