On August 4th, 2020 at 6:00 pm, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions that has ever occurred shook Beirut to the core. While the first recovery efforts are taking place, the physical strain on those affected will be felt in the years to come. Physiotherapy will play a role in the rehabilitation of the traumatic injuries sustained in this devastating attack. Physiopedia is committed to the effort.
After news of the explosion traveled around the world, the Physiopedia team contacted Humanity & Inclusion and the International Committee of the Red Cross to see how we could help. As a result of their learning from the region, they jointly emphasized the need to provide physiotherapists in Lebanon with up-to-date educational content in order to be able to effectively rehabilitate the injuries sustained by the devastating explosion. The physical injuries reported to date vary in impact and severity and include injuries to the upper extremities, traumatic facial injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and severe multiple trauma.
Physiotherapy in Lebanon – key factors
World Organization for Physiotherapy since 1991
1,247 practicing physiotherapists
1.82 physical therapists per 10,000 people
A doctor's prescription is required before visiting a physical therapist
Physiotherapists cannot provide telehealth services
The Physiopedia team, together with our specialists, worked with speed and intent to create content specifically for the Lebanon response. This includes courses on hand injuries and facial trauma. These courses are put together with our TBI and SCI courses to ensure that clinicians in Lebanon have the content and knowledge they need to help the community.
A night of horror
Currently 5000 people have been wounded and over 135 people have died. The Guardian UK has created an interactive timeline that shows the extent of the damage and horror that the people of Beirut are suffering.
The port in Beirut (picture on top of the post) was completely destroyed due to the catastrophic ammonia explosion. The video below explains what we know about the explosion so far.
Over 100,000 houses were damaged or destroyed by the explosion. To further increase the urgency of the relief measures, only grain silos in the country were destroyed in the explosion. And as if that didn't destroy enough shipping containers loaded with thousands of pieces of PPE imported to fight the coronavirus, it was also destroyed.
Free education for our colleagues in Lebanon
Free access to Physios through a partnership with the Lebanese member association, and students at the universities are available. All HI and ICRC employees already have access to Physioplus as part of our commitment to improving global health through universal access to physiotherapy knowledge. We strive to continue to support the response wherever we can, and this includes creating more courses that will be available shortly.
Wendy Walker is a neurological physiotherapist who specializes in facial paralysis, peripheral nerve injuries, and neurology and complex diseases. She created a Facial Injury Course that provides our colleagues with the skills needed to treat common types of facial injuries and highlight the role of physical therapists in restoring facial function.
Hand injuries are incredibly common in trauma and especially in explosion trauma. Kate Thorn, a hand therapist dedicated to providing and teaching high quality evidence-based hand therapy, has developed two additional courses designed to help people with hand injuries. Her flexor tendon and extensor tendon courses on injury management are later supplemented by Megan Blakeway's courses, which expand the range of hand rehabilitation.
Access to the courses on spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries is also free for our colleagues in Lebanon.
The Physiopedia team also committed the month to updating and creating pages related to the hand. High quality pages have been created and edited to ensure teams in Lebanon have access to the most up-to-date resources available. Examples of the pages are:
This is just a short list of all the pages created and reviewed this month. Browse the hand category to see all the pages related to the hand.
The physical and emotional consequences of this catastrophe will be felt for many years to come. Even if the Physiopedia team cannot be in Beirut to personally help with the answer, we will try wherever we can to help. If you would like to help with our answer, please contact us.
