Conference on physiotherapy
THE International Conference on Manual Therapy, organised by the physiotherapy department of Mahsa University, will be held from May 3-7 at Saujana Putra Campus.
The first such conference in Malaysia, it aims to update the knowledge and skills of physiotherapists in manual therapy and emphasises the importance of evidencebased practice in the management of musculoskeletal pain and disability.
It will include two pre-conference workshops on manual therapy techniques and a post-conference workshop on pain. There will also be two key notes, four plenary sessions and four symposiums presented by esteemed speakers, as well as eight free paper presentations.
Physiotherapists have greatly contributed to the development of manual therapy approaches and techniques.
Manual therapy forms the main scope of practice in musculoskeletal physiotherapy and its clinical outcomes depend on strong evidence and clinical reasoning. It is one of the specialised hands-on techniques used to reduce pain and improve a patient’s functional ability.
The conference will also include the latest treatment techniques that will be beneficial to clinicians, academicians and students of physiotherapy.
The invited speakers are experts in musculoskeletal physiotherapy and manual therapy. They include the director of the International Centre for Allied Health Evidence, Sansom Institute and programme director of Health Sciences at University of South Australia Dr Steve Milanese, who has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of ergonomics, evidence-based practice, manual therapy and healthcare.
Also attending is clinical researcher from Curtin University Prof Dr Helen Slater, an enthusiast in the field of musculoskeletal pain, recognised across government sectors, professional bodies, health industries, and not-for-profit organisations.
Another prominent speaker is researcher and musculoskeletal and sport physiotherapist Dr Nagarajan Manickaraj, who has conducted workshops and symposiums in Malaysia, India, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea, contributing greatly towards evidence-based practice in physiotherapy profession.
Dr Subhash Khatri, a pioneer in manual therapy who has authored books such as Basics of Orthopaedic Physiotherapy and Basics of Electrotherapy, will also be present.
Two other Malaysian speakers are anaesthesiologist Dr Mary Cardosa, who developed clinical services, health workforce education and pain research in Malaysia, and radiologist Dr Low Soo Fin from the Imaging Department of the Kuala Lumpur Sports Medicine Centre.
Chair of the organising committee Assoc Prof Chan Sook Chin is the dean of Mahsa University’s Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences. A physiotherapist, Assoc Prof Chan is passionate about upgrading the knowledge and skills of the profession through continuous professional development.
The pre-conference and post-conference workshops will be attended by local and international clinicians. The conference will see the attendance of 200 participants, including physiotherapy students, Mahsa alumni and physiotherapists.
The premium sponsors for this conference are Biofit Technology and Services and Innomed Sdn Bhd.
Through this conference, it is hoped that manual therapy will be practised more effectively to resolve patients’ musculoskeletal pain and movement dysfunction.
It will also attempt to bridge the gap with eminent speakers regarding advanced Maitland techniques, motor control in manual therapy, other manual approaches and the implications of pain.
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