Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of SYSMH was established in 1991. It is the earliest clinical rehabilitation medicine department in Guangdong Province founded according to the modern rehabilitation model. Currently, our department is recognized as a Guangdong Provincial Clinical Key Specialty, a Standardized Residency Training Base for Rehabilitation Medicine, a national site for conferring doctoral and master's degrees in the specialty as well as hosting a postdoctoral program, a National GCP (Good Clinical Practice) Base, a Clinical Training Base for Visualized Ultrasound in Pain Management, the Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Rehabilitation and Elderly Care, and a training base for both Rehabilitation Specialist Nurses and Geriatric Specialist Practice in Guangdong Province.
In 2014, the department took the lead in Guangdong's rehabilitation field by establishing three subspecialties: Orthopedic and Joint Rehabilitation, Neurological Rehabilitation, and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, initiating the subspecialty development within rehabilitation medicine. The department comprises both the Main Hospital Campus and the Southern Campus, with a total of 64 inpatient beds. It has a staff of 61, including 13 physicians (3 Chief Physicians/Professors, 11 holding doctoral degrees), 18 therapists (1 Chief Therapist, 7 holding master's degrees), and 30 nurses (1 Associate Chief Nurse, 3 National Rehabilitation Specialist Nurses). The department is equipped with various specialized facilities, including a Function Assessment Room, Neuroelectrophysiology Room, Physical Therapy Room, Occupational Therapy Room, Speech Therapy Room, Pain Injection Therapy Room, Manual Therapy Room, Orthotics and Prosthetics Room, Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, and Psychological Counseling Room.
In recent years, under the leadership of Professor Ma Chao, the Department Director, the department has pioneered several innovative clinical techniques. These include trigeminal nerve electrical stimulation for arousal promotion, ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injection for the treatment of cricopharyngeal achalasia, and platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of femoral head necrosis. These advancements have garnered significant attention from peers both domestically and internationally. The department is recognized as the earliest and most systematic rehabilitation department in China to implement ultrasound-guided pain/botulinum toxin injection techniques.

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Featured Medical Technology

In recent years, the department has developed several distinctive clinical treatment techniques in the fields of orthopedic and joint rehabilitation, critical illness rehabilitation, and neurological rehabilitation, achieving a leading position domestically.
The key specialized techniques in Orthopedic and Joint Rehabilitation include ultrasound-guided pain/botulinum toxin injection, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) pain injection, and exercise therapy for musculoskeletal disorders. Among these, the ultrasound-guided pain injection technique was pioneered and systematically implemented in rehabilitation departments nationwide by our department. We are capable of independently performing nerve blocks for pain in limb joints, soft tissues, and complex spinal-origin pain. This year, the technique was recognized as a "Clinical Appropriate Technology Promotion Project" by the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission. Multiple clinical studies have been conducted, attracting over 30 trainees annually from across the country for advanced training.
The key specialized techniques in Neurological Rehabilitation include the application of intelligent multi-channel electrical stimulation devices (low-frequency electrical stimulation) in hemiplegic patients, trigeminal nerve electrical stimulation for arousal promotion, clinical application of transcranial magnetic stimulation, implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), and the use of 3D-printed braces for subluxation prevention. Among these, the application of low-frequency electrical stimulation in hemiplegic patients has evolved into a series of industry-academia-research studies with successful translation of outcomes. This research series has secured funding from seven sources, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and has obtained over 10 patents. The resulting product, "Yishanxing," is now utilized in more than 100 hospitals across over 10 provinces in China.

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Scientific Research Results

In terms of teaching, the teaching and research section of the department has long been responsible for the instruction of Rehabilitation Medicine and Rehabilitation Therapy for both clinical medicine and rehabilitation therapy majors at the Sun Yat-sen University School of Medicine. It was also the first in China to offer the course Rehabilitation Nursing to undergraduate students in the School of Nursing. The department served as the chief editor of the national higher education textbook Rehabilitation Medicine, part of the "13th Five-Year Plan" series. Among the courses overseen by the teaching and research section, three have been recognized as Sun Yat-sen University-level elite courses: Physical Therapy for Neurological Diseases, Rehabilitation Nursing, and Sports Medicine. The department has trained 9 postdoctoral researchers (2 of whom were honored as "Sun Yat-sen University Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellows"), over 20 doctoral students, and nearly 60 master's students.
In research, the department has received multiple awards, including one Third Prize of the Huaxia Medical Science and Technology Award and four Third Prizes of the Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. It has secured 3 sub-projects under the National Key Technologies R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 16 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and over 20 projects from the Ministry of Education and various provincial/municipal funds, with total funding exceeding 10 million RMB. The department has published more than 80 SCI-indexed papers internationally, including 1 paper with an impact factor above 10 and 4 with impact factors above 5, as well as over 300 papers in Chinese core journals. It holds nearly 30 patents resulting from the integration of medicine and engineering and has authored or co-authored more than 30 monographs as chief or deputy editors.

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