History of medical rehabilitation

Abstract

The World Health Organization defines rehabilitation as a set of measures to restore functions impaired as a result of illnesses, injuries, accidents, birth defects, aimed at adapting this category of people to the most fulfilling life in modern society. Complex of rehabilitation measures should be aimed at restoring health, ability to work and social adaptation, restoring the personal value of each individual. Medical rehabilitation is a process aimed at providing comprehensive care to people with one or another category of disorders and, if possible, ensuring the most comprehensive recovery of the lost functions. People began to resort to rehabilitation as an important way to restore the functions of the damaged organism from ancient times. Even the doctors of Ancient Egypt suggested using some methods of ergotherapy to accelerate the restoration of the health in their patients. Doctors of Ancient Greece and Rome also used physical activity and occupational therapy for patients in therapeutic measures. Various types of massage were widely used in the same countries as a hygienic and therapeutic agent, as well as in order to increase work activity. Since the Roman Empire constantly waged wars to maintain its power, expand and strengthen its borders, the number of people who were mutilated and lost their ability to work was constantly growing. Against this background it was proposed in Rome to provide assistance to the disabled citizens who were injured when defending the fatherland to restore their health (“invalid” – as these people are called in some counties – translated from Latin means “weak”, “feeble”). In particular, in the Roman Empire it was ordered to provide land allotments with slaves and one-time material compensation to former soldiers, who received military injuries during military campaigns. Today rehabilitation has become a separate medical discipline, this issue is supervised by the governments of many countries, and WHO provides interaction with dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in this direction.