This chapter highlights the significance of and need for physical rehabilitation in the prevention and management of impairments caused by leprosy. The information provided will help health care workers identify and understand the vital components required to rehabilitate leprosy-affected patients. In addition, recent technological advances in the field of rehabilitation and their use in preventing impairments are discussed in detail, enabling readers to enhance the functionality of existing devices in a cost-effective manner.
The primary goal of physical rehabilitation is to restore an individual to maximal physical well-being. However, rehabilitation is not limited to the physical but rather extends to the whole individual. To achieve such holistic rehabilitation, the primary goal should be reversing the physical impairments caused by leprosy, while the secondary goal should be customizing lifestyle modifications for the individual patients, their families, and their communities. Rehabilitation of a leprosy-affected individual should start at diagnosis and continue until the patient is able to return to an active normal life.
The physical rehabilitation of the leprosy-affected can be classified into the following categories: (1) Identifying nerve function impairment (NFI), (2) Monitoring impairments, and (3) Preventing further deterioration of impairments.