Spring goes to autumn, year after year. From the approval of the "Twelfth Five-Year" hand function rehabilitation research project to the establishment of the Shanghai Hand Functional Rehabilitation Committee for Electrophysiological and Rehabilitation Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, and to the founding of Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, and even to the establishment of local Hand Function Rehabilitation Professional Committee in Foshan and Shanghai, the Hand Function Rehabilitation gradually rooting and flowering from the initial germination in just five years.
Nowadays, hand function has become a hot topic. People use their hands, a symbol of wisdom and creation, to create life entertainment, learn new techniques and make production. Due to hand’s complex anatomical structure and central regulation, the hand has a highly degreed motor function from gross to fine. For this reason, the hand is also called "the second brain of the human body". At present, hand dysfunction caused by various diseases, especially caused by brain damage, is a worldwide problem. With the development of economy and improved living standards, people's demand for perfect hand function is also getting higher and higher. In view of this point, the establishment of the Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association fits well with the trend of the times and historical mission. As the chairman of the 1st Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, I feel that I have a great responsibility. As the saying goes, “An educated gentleman cannot but be resolute and broad-minded, for he has taken up a heavy responsibility and a long course." It is a long-term and arduous task to overcome the problem of hand dysfunction in the academic world. To achieve this goal, more and more efforts should be made to build a brighter future for our patients with hand dysfunction.
As a newly established society, the Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association has distinctive academic characteristics. In order to better understand the Committee and welcome more people who are on the same wavelength to join this vibrant family and work together for a better tomorrow of Hand Function Rehabilitation, we will elaborate on the characteristics of the Committee as follows.
The Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association has the following characteristics:
① Wide range of distribution all over the country
Covering 22 provinces, the Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association has 119 member units, including the class Ⅲ comprehensive hospitals, class Ⅱ specialty hospitals, and even the community health service centers. Before that, the Shanghai Hand Functional Rehabilitation Committee for Electrophysiological and Rehabilitation Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, which was chaired by Professor Jia Jie, had 87 members and listed units in China in the past two years. Therefore, the committee has the characteristic of wide distribution range all over the country.
② Comprehensively covering, truth-seeking and pragmatic
Generally, in the past, hand function rehabilitation refers to rehabilitation after hand trauma and burns. In the past few years, under the leadership of the author, the team of hand function constantly promoted the innovation, focusing on different causes of hand function, including central nervous system injury, such as stroke, hand & upper limb dysfunction after breast cancer surgery, etc. The hand function team actively promoted the integration of rehabilitation of hand function and the different clinical disciplines to achieve the true value of "rehabilitation". In addition, rare clinical diseases involving hand dysfunction were constantly being explored, such as Hirayama disease and brachial plexus neuritis.
③ “Industry-University-Research-Medicine” and multidisciplinary team
From the stage of germination, the hand function of rehabilitation insisted on the development path of Industry-University-Research-Medicine. The so-called Industry-University-Research-Medicine refers to that under the premise of multidisciplinary, we carry out academic research, product development and technical exchange to promote the further development of hand function rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is a functional medicine, involving not only the field of traditional medical, but also science and engineering, such as rehabilitation assistive devices and engineering. This is especially true for the rehabilitation of hand function, since it is impossible to simply rely on the medical science to compensate for the loss of function. Therefore, “Industry-University-Research-Medicine” principle integrated with of multidisciplinary cooperation are great motivation to move on.
④ International development Perspective and promoting clinical practice with scientific research
Over the past few years, under the leadership of the author, hand function rehabilitation has been continuously communicated with the international community, especially scientific research cooperation, which greatly promoted the application and applicable methods of hand function rehabilitation. Relying on the Shanghai Hand Functional Rehabilitation Committee for Electrophysiological and Rehabilitation Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, the author led the team to collaborate with several universities in scientific research, such as the University of Tübingen, the University of Southern California, the University of New York (Shanghai), the University of Sydney, Australia, and the University of Queensland, Australia. What’s more, we conducted on-the-spot investigation and related clinical research in the clinical base of hand function rehabilitation - Shanghai Jing’an District Central Hospital. Developed a variety of hand-function rehabilitation equipment, such as multi-modal mirror therapy equipment, multi-dimensional video evaluation and hand function rehabilitation gloves, and gradually realized the clinical development led by scientific research.
In the future, relying on the Hand Function Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, hand function rehabilitation will gradually realize the internationalization, and catch up on the level of developed countries. With the support of such a strong society and a group of people who really love the hand function rehabilitation, we will gradually achieve the training and certification of hand-function therapists in China, cultivate new generation of hand-function rehabilitation practitioners with innovation and clinical thinking. At the same time, we will constantly explore new fields, including the first Hand Function Rehabilitation website, and gradually realize the sinking of hand function rehabilitation for the benefits of the society, forming a three-level rehabilitation network from the General Hospitals, secondary hospitals or specialist hospitals to community, site and family, etc.
“Based on the present and cultivate the future.” We share work together and down to the earth to achieve the bright future of hand function rehabilitation.