Spa Hotel Terme Practioners Qualify For MT Certification

Jasmin Avdović leading Mirror Therapy Workshop for Spa Hotel Terme Employees

In cooperation with End The Pain Project, licensed educator Jasmin Avdović held a full-day Mirror Therapy Workshop for ten professional employees of the Spa Hotel Terme in Sarajevo on November 29, 2014.

 

The ten students successfully trained in the application of mirror therapy techniques received certification to practice these skills and train other therapists. Those who were approved and issued certificates:

Sanela Sadikovic, Haris Kapetanovic, Goran Bogeljic, Alen Raonic, Muamer Custovic, Sead Kojic, Edita Rizvic, Mersiha Čavčić, Tanja Umicevic, Aida Deception.

Mirror Therapy Training Workshop Held 11/ 22/ 14 in Vitez, Bosnia

Jasmin Avdovic of Mirror Adria Leading Vitez Mirror Therapy Training Workshop

On November 22, 2014, the medieval old town of Vitez, Bosnia was the setting for the Physiotherapy Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (UFFBiH) practical seminar that included a two-hour Mirror Therapy (MT) Training Workshop.

Participants at Vitez MT Training Workshop

Seventy-seven physiotherapy professionals attended the MT Training Workshop led by Jasmin Avdovic of the Mirror Adria organization, coming away with great enthusiasm for the simple, cost-effective therapy.

An all-day MT Training Workshop in December 2014, is under consideration by the Aquaterm Thermal Spa, Olovo, Bosnia for its employees. The Spa, which maintains several hundred beds, says the majority of their clients are persons with stroke and hemiparesis, both of which can be aided by Mirror Therapy.

In April 2015, Avdovic is scheduled to lead MT Training Workshops in the country of Montenegro.

MIrror Therapy Presented At 1st International Physiotherapy Congress in Montenegro by Jasmin Avdovic

Jasmin Avdovic training Congress participant

Mirror Therapy trainer Jasmin Avdovic from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented a one hour Mirror Therapy workshop as part of the official program of The 1st International Physiotherapy Congress on 10/09/14 at Institute Dr.Simo Milosevic in Igalo, Montenegro. The Institute, one of the largest and the most famous institutions for multidisciplinary spa treatment on the Balkan peninsula, is a pioneer of modern physical and preventive medicine, rehabilitation, talasotherapy and wellness and a leading international rehabilitation center.


Over 120 Congress participants were introduced to the Mirror Therapy technique by Avdovic through interactive presentations and demonstrations that allowed participants to feel for themselves the basic principles of Mirror Therapy and body reactions to it.

Besides the large number of health professionals attending this workshop, national physiotherapy associations and certain health institutions from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, United Kingdom and others participated as official representatives of their national associations. Many representatives expressed interest in organizing full-day Mirror Therapy workshops.

Mirror therapy in the Balkans is important because of the high number of limb amputations, primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as land mine fields were the worst  in world, followed by Croatia and Kosovo.

Jasmin Avdovic also explored the importance of using Mirror therapy for stroke, aneurism, traumatic brain injuries and others neurological disorders and conditions) with the participants. This Mirror Therapy workshop successfully left a huge imprint for future MT education in south-east Europe.

Video of Mirror Therapy Workshop August 20, 2014, Gihembe Refugee Camp, Rwanda

This video of the Mirror Therapy Workshop held on August 20, 2014 at Gihembe Refugee Camp, Rwanda is conducted in Rwandan.

However, enthusiasm for the procedure is captured on the faces of the participants.

Vietnamese Amputee Demonstrates Effective Mirror Therapy at 5th Annual Cluster Munitions Convention in Costa Rica September 5, 2014

Credit: Thao Griffiths

Pham Quy Thi who lost his right hand and part of his right arm to a hidden landmine explosion, made the long journey from Vietnam to the Costa Rican Cluster Munitions Convention to demonstrate the use of ETPP Mirror Therapy as a means to diminish or end Phantom Limb Pain for amputees. Mr. Pham traveled under the auspices of Project Renew, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, Vietnam.  

Credit: Thao Griffiths

Mr. Pham's demonstration totally captivated the attention of the Meeting of States delegates who attended his side event at the Convention on September 5, 2014. For further information about Mr. Pham shedding 36 years of Phantom Limb Pain through Mirror Therapy, please refer to the blog of December 5, 2013.

Attendees at ETPP Mirror Therapy Workshop at Gihembe Refugee Camp, Rwanda

On August 20, 2014, a Mirror Therapy Workshop led by ETPP Representative, Jean Luc Ngarambe (far left) was held at the Gihembe Refugee Camp in Rwanda.

The Workshop was attended by fifteen amputees and ten family members who will act as coaches for their kin in home-based therapy procedures.

Amputee and Family Member Coach

The participants, Rwandan refugees from the Congo, were each given a mirror and guided through a Mirror Therapy session by Jean Luc Ngarambe.

Upper Limb Amputee Involved in Mirror Therapy

The amputees expressed gratitude for this focus on relief of existing Phantom Limb Pain and planned to follow the thirty-day schedule faithfully. Their outcome will be posted in October.

Lower Limb Amputee Involved in Mirror Therapy

Mirror-Adria a registered Bosnian organization to offer Mirror Therapy Training Workshops

 Mirror-Adria, a rehabilitation training group  has been registered by physiotherapist Jasmin Adovic to address the problem of phantom limb pain for Bosnian amputees. Sarajevo alone, has over 50,000 people with permanent disabilities as a direct consequence of injuries from 1992-1995. This data does not include the numbers of wounded soldiers, including amputees who suffer with phantom limb pain.

Mirror-Adria, endorsed by End The Pain Project (ETPP), will bring Mirror Therapy training workshops to rehabilitation therapists in the Adria region as follows:

Bosnia - end of 2014
Montenegro - April 18, 2015
Serbia-May - June 2015
Macedonia - some time at the end of 2015

Graduates of the Mirror-Adria Training Workshops will receive Certificates of Completion issued by ETPP which will allow them to both administer mirror therapy and to train other professional therapists, amputees and family members or friends of amputees who suffer phantom limb pain. 

Jasmin Adovic, founder of Mirror Therapy Adria at far left with graduates of the September 2013 ETPP Mirror Therapy Training Workshop

Adovic recently created a FaceBook group, Mirror Therapy Adria. It has attracted over 500 members and more are coming, all with days of its inception!

An Old/New Prosthetic That Works

"The best designs and innovations come from people who refuse to accept the definitions and limitations set be others" says Mark Lesek, an amputee inventor. Mark lost his arm several years ago. Now his search for a better prosthetic could improve the lives of amputees everywhere. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4DDt30Aat4

Viewers can contact Mark at: mark@dynamicwelding.com

New Device Makes Wheel Chairs Obsolete

This device holds great promise for paraplegics and others confined to wheelchairs.

The TEK Robotic Mobilization Device is a machine developed to replace the wheelchair. In this demonstration video, we see a man with a severe injury to his spinal cord able to move about in ways that a wheelchair would make very difficult.

http://www.wimp.com/newdevice/