Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Award for Medical Science, the Emirates Physiotherapy Society will holds the 8th Emirates Physiotherapy Conference over two days (15th and 16th October) at The Conrad Hotel Dubai. The conference is supported by the Dubai Health Authority, The Dubai Economic and Tourism Department, Emirates Health Services, The University of Sharjah, and Gulf Medical College Dubai,
The conference will host 6 keynote speakers who are expertise in the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation; from the following countries Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom, and United States, who will exchange their expertise with the delegates.
The chairperson of the physiotherapy societies or their representatives from GCC, Arabic Countries and Ascian pacific and representative of the world physiotherapy Drs. Emma Stok and Tracy Bury, deputy Chief executive of the World Physiotherapy will also participate in the conference. Alongside the conference there will be 15 exhibitors in the field Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation exhibition presenting the latest technology.
The Chairperson of the Scientific Committees Amal AlShamlan stated that conference focus will health issues related to musculoskeletal disorders, chronic pain, and sport injuries. She added that these topics are the focus of the conference since the Musculoskeletal disorders including back, neck, knee, shoulder, and heel pain. A study published in 2021 showed that back and neck pain are among first cause of pain to visit family physicians and specialists, and other musculoskeletal disorders and injuries are third or fouth cause of visiting family physicians and specialists.
For example, 95% of the people at least will have one episode of back in their life of which 15% suffer from recurrent or continuous back pain. A study in 2018 in the United Kingdom revealed that 47.5% of the visit to the General practitioner were related to shoulder pain.
The conference will also discuss sport related brain concussion and issues related to balance after concussion, and latest update in rehabilitation of the patient after recovering from the concussion.
The conference will hold 6 workshops at The Emirates Medical Association (3 preconference related to back and neck pain, knee pain, and sport injuries, and post conference workshop related for shoulder pain/rotator cuff tendinopathies, heal pain and management in practice, and vestibular rehabilitation after sports related concussion)
All the participants will obtain continuous medical education hours from Emirates Health Services (MoH).
Ninty nine (99) abstracts were submitted for presentations and posters from UAE and other countries including GCC, neighboring countries and Europe.
The conference will also include a panel discussion on advancing physiotherapy practice in the UAE and the region.
Naima Saleh the Chairperson of the 8th Emirates Physiotherapy Conference and President of the Emirates Physiotherapy Society stated that advocating for evidenced based practices and advancing the physiotherapy practice in the UAE is one of the main aims of the Society since its inception in 2003. To achieve this goal, EPS has adopted continuous education program through conducting conferences and workshops. The first Emirates Physiotherapy Conference was held in 2006 and the 2022 conference is the 8th Emirates Physiotherapy Conference, usually attended by 400 to 450 delegates from the UAE, and neighboring countries. One of the contributing factors that UAE win the World Physiotherapy Congress in 2023 is the success of the Emirates Physiotherapy Conferences, after going through competitive bids.
It important to know that physiotherapy as a discipline is one of the pivot specialties in the field of the healthcare for treating and rehabilitating patients of all ages. It’s important to know that physiotherapy has variety of specialties like physiotherapy for old people, pediatric, musculoskeletal disorders, neuro rehabilitation, sport injuries rehabilitation, women health.
The research in the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation are vast that aim to support interventions with scientific evidence. Therefore, the conference is an opportunity for learning and discussing updates in the physiotherapy field and related rehabilitation specialties, as well as translating the evidence into practice.
His Excellency Abdulla Bin Sougat the Chief Executive Office of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Award admired the richness of the Emirates Physiotherapy Program with researcher and experts in the field of the Physiotherapy and the variation of the conference between lectures, workshops, and panel discussions. His excellency emphasized the award support for the medical and health related sciences that benefit people in the community of the health-related field within and outside the country.
