I came to Kolkata in June 2007 as a volunteer physiothera-

pist, helping to promote the use of exercise as part of the

holistic approach of treatment used by CR.

CR started an independent physiotherapy department in

1996 and this has grown to over 300 regular patients. Before

then, physiotherapy was carried out by volunteers or in the

hospitals to which our patients were referred.

CR is no different from any clinic anywhere in the world in

that the scope for treatment with physiotherapy is almost

unlimited: pre and post-surgical, congenital diseases,

rheumatic diseases, diabetics, neurological disorders, ortho-

pedic cases – there is hardly any condition that won’t benefit

from physiotherapy.

We don’t have access here to high-tech therapies such as

electrotherapy and ultrasound. Internationally, however, the

trend is towards a more active approach to treatment so we

focus on total active patient involvement by educating,

instructing and repetitive demonstration.

Home exercise programmes are given for individual treat-

ment, reviewed and adapted for patients during their clinic

visits according to their progress.

Most of all I enjoy our three different exercise groups

where I work with Napur, our hired local physiotherapist,

treating antenatal, rheumatoid arthritis and leprosy patients.

Napur has the amazing skill of translating medical Latin

into layman Bengali so even the most stubborn of patients

listens to her.

These exercise sessions are fun and noisy and it’s very sat-

isfying to have a group copy my every movement, including

scratching at a mosquito on my ear, sending everyone in the

clinic rolling with laughter.

This project is a wonderful attempt at self-management

through the understanding of the human body and the

stresses that adversity can inflict on it.

Having to adapt the exercises to activity and function, as

well as taking into consideration the patient’s living

conditions has, for me, been the most enlightening learning

experience.

Lynn Baron

Volunteer physiotherapist (June 2007-March 2008)

Seventeen-year-old Mohammed Farukuddin suffers from a severe

degree of cervical dystonea. He attends CR for his medical treat-

ment, medicines and physiotherapy.

Despite the care and treatment he receives, his disease is gradual-

ly worsening and he is in a lot of pain. He finds that placing a hand

on the side of the face, chin, or the back of the head temporarily

alleviates the dystonic posture and leaning his head back against a

chair or placing a hand on the top of his head also helps to relieve

the pain, but in the end the other side and arms are hurting.

Besides medicines, we have tried braces, but nothing works well

as the permanent solution.

Mohammed attends a special school and he manages to learn

well but, due to the spasm and pain he is suffering, going to school

is getting harder.

Now the Bangur Institute of Neurology suggests a course of

injections of Botox (Botulium toxim). This will cost around 13,500

rupees (£155), which is way beyond the means of the Farukuddin

family. He is the oldest of four children and lives in the family

home. His parents have a small grocery shop earning around 1,500

rupees (£18.50) a month.

CR is helping by paying for the treatment so Mohammed can live

the life of a normal 17-year old young man.

Mohammed gets the Botox treatment

Lynn and Napur: a winning team

6

Aiming for a normal life: Mohammed Farukuddin

There is hardly any condition which doesn’t benefit

from physiotherapy