Helping children with difficulty in movement practice standing and walking safely
At Quang Ninh Geriatric - Rehabilitation Hospital, the Department of Psychotherapy is a clinical department with the function of examining, treating, and recovering the functions of children with disabilities and developmental disorders in general, and children with difficulty in movement in particular; participating in the work of directing the field, recovering the function of relying on the community for children with disabilities in Quang Ninh province.
In the period from 2023 to April 2025, the Department of Psychotherapy received and treated 2,973 pediatric patients. Of which, more than 700 children had difficulty with movement such as cerebral palsy, developmental delays, flat feet, stiff joints, and paralysis... The rate of children who need to use auxiliary equipment to practice exercise accounts for 80 - 85%; children in the standing exercise stage, traveling, account for 40 - 50% of children with difficulty in movement. It is expected that in the following years, the demand for using standing and walking support tools will increase corresponding to the number of pediatric patients coming to the hospital for examination and treatment.
From the practical situation, to help children catch up with typical development milestones, doctors and staff of Quang Ninh Geriatric - Rehabilitation Hospital have come up with the idea and launched the initiative " up the fish bone stairs to practice standing, go for children" to support children with difficulty in movement.
Ms. Le Thu Huyen - Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Geriatric - Rehabilitation Hospital is one of the members of the initiative group, said that this is an initiative based on the theory of rehabilitation for children with motor disabilities and the principle of selecting, manufacturing and using auxiliary equipment.
Currently, the initiative up the fish bone stairs to practice standing, go for children aims to overcome existing difficulties, improve treatment quality, restore function for children with physical disabilities; overcome existing difficulties in supporting childrens tools. In addition, it helps promote the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs for disabled children in the province, especially focusing on the community-based rehabilitation model, shared the Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Geriatric - Rehabilitation Hospital.
Using available materials, bringing economic efficiency
It is known that the initiative " upright fish bone stairs for children" is a tool integrated in three in one; parallel bars, stairs for walking, and treadmills for walking. Thanks to the engine, it can be adjusted into parallel bars, the stairs are used as low steps, the stairs are used as high steps, and the steep steps are used depending on the purpose of use.
According to the group of authors, foreign products with similar features are priced at over 150 million VND, but with the above initiative, the materials available in the Vietnamese market have been taken advantage. To complete the product, the cost was only about 15 million VND.
As a doctor working in the Department of Psychotherapy, Quang Ninh Geriatric and Rehabilitation Hospital and directly participating in the initiative, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha said: In order to optimize the creativity and superiority of the initiative, our group has created and supplemented the up and down engines. This engine helps practitioners adjust tools from flat terrain to stairs and steep slopes. This point also helps the initiative optimize its three-in-one features, thanks to the parallel bar engine, the stairs for practice and the sidewalks for practice; helping the treatment facility save equipment placement area and equipment purchase costs".
With a practical and effective initiative, the group of authors of the initiative " upstanding fish bone stairs, for children" have received the Creative Labor certificate from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.
