Press release

For immediate release 27 July 2022

Three physiotherapists from India to address World Physiotherapy

Congress 2023
Three physiotherapists from India will be among the main presenters at the profession’s largest and most
important international gathering, the World Physiotherapy Congress 2023, to be held next year in Dubai, 2-4
June.

The three physiotherapists are profiled below.

They will be contributing to a focused symposium featuring international presenters from across different World
Physiotherapy regions. Focused symposia are core congress sessions where cutting edge relevant topics will
be explored from an international and diverse perspective.
Jackie Whittaker, chair of World Physiotherapy’s congress programme committee (CPC), said: “We were
incredibly pleased with the breadth and quality of the many proposals we received. The focused symposia to be
presented in Dubai combine truly global perspectives with content that we believe represents professional
challenges that physiotherapists around the world are facing today. The topics cover a range of timely issues,
such as pain management, services for refugees and migrants, health economics, and the role of technology,
and are relevant to clinicians, managers, educators and researchers.
“Focused symposia are a great opportunity to hear from presenters who are experts in their area and gain a
unique global understanding and insight into a particular field.

“The CPC is excited to announce the first confirmed programming for the World Physiotherapy Congress
2023and is looking forward to developing it further with relevant and innovative content.”
Each focused symposium is organised by an expert in the field, who leads an international group of presenters
working together and engaging with the audience to draw out the relevance, challenges, applicability and take-
home messages.
Further details about the focused symposia for the World Physiotherapy Congress 2023 can be found at:
https://wp2023.world.physio/#/programme/sessions
Note to World Physiotherapy member organisations: please use this information in your magazine, journal,
newsletter or social media channels. It may also be forwarded to your local or national media.
Presenters from INDIA

Presenter Srijani Banerjee

Focused symposium IMPLEMENTING PLANETARY HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY IN

INTERNATIONAL PHYSIOTHERAPY EDUCATION
Biography
Srijani Banerjee (PT, MPT Cardiorespiratory Disorders) is a Faculty and Member of the Board of Studies at the Department
of Physiotherapy at The Neotia University, India. She has clinical experience and a Master in Physiotherapy in
Cardiorespiratory Disorders and Onco Rehabilitation. She is specifically interested in the psychosocial aspects of
physiotherapy care and looking beyond the realms of mainstream physiotherapy. Srijani actively conducts seminars and
publishes in print media to promote the physiotherapy profession and its further development. Her research works are often
an amalgamation of Physiotherapy and Dance Movement Therapy, where she is also interested in embodied and
experiential approaches to learning and rehabilitation that emphasize the interconnections between health, function,
participation and environment. She has presented papers on the effects of aerobic exercises delivered through
telerehabilitation on anxiety; and the effects of authentic movements on social interaction in patients with dementia, at both
international conferences including World Physiotherapy Congress 2021. Recent publications: Banerjee, S. & Suresh,
A. (2020). A study on the effect of manual hyperinflation on oxygenation and hemodynamic parameters in mechanically
ventilated patients after valve replacement surgery.Physiotherapy – The Journal of Indian Association of
Physiotherapists.14 (2).

Presenter Vincent Singh Paramanandam

Focused symposium OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL PRACTICE

Biography
Dr. Paramanandam is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Melbourne. He worked as a clinical
physiotherapist for >20 years at Tata Memorial Hospital – a large-volume cancer centre in Mumbai, India. During his clinical
career, he founded the Society of Onco-Physiotherapists of India. Qualified Cancer Care professional and a certified
lymphoedema therapist, he established the evidence-based course in oncological physiotherapy that continues to be
offered at Tata Memorial Hospital. His research addresses physiotherapy for cancer sequelae, particularly lymphoedema
after breast cancer. His most recent randomised trial proved that prophylactic use of compression sleeves reduces the
incidence of arm swelling in women at high risk of breast cancer-related lymphoedema. This trial, published in the Journal of
Clinical Oncology (JIF 44), is in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric. He was awarded a prestigious
USydIS Strategic Scholarship from the University of Sydney, where he maintains an Honorary Research Associate title. The
quality and importance of his research have been recognised with a Distinction from Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, the
UK, and the Paper of the Year award (2014) from the Journal of Physiotherapy.

Presenter John Solomon

Focused symposium IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGIES INTO GLOBAL STROKE REHABILITATION: WHY, WHAT
AND HOW?
Biography
Dr. John M. Solomon, PT, PhD,is the Head of Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of HealthProfessions, Manipal
Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, and the coordinator of Centre for Comprehensive Stroke Rehabilitation and
Research, MAHE, India. He has 20 years of clinical, teaching and research experience in neurological rehabilitation. His
research focus is on strategies to improve motor recovery after stroke, use of technology and implementation of evidence-
based practice. He was the Co-Investigator on the collaborative grants with McGill University on ‘Evidence based practice-
Assessing neurological recovery’ and ‘Virtual reality stroke rehabilitation’. He is a part of the recently competed tri-nation
project ‘ENHANCE’ with McGill University, Canada and Tel-Aviv University, Israel. He is a member of various international
working groups on stroke rehabilitation and has been actively involved in developing stroke rehabilitation strategies for low-
income countries. He has 52 peer-reviewed scientific publications to his credit.

Twitter @WorldPhysio
Facebook @WorldPhysio

Contact Mia Lockner: communications@world.physio

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EDITOR’S NOTES
About physiotherapy
Physiotherapists are experts in developing and maintaining people’s ability to move and function throughout their lives. With an advanced
understanding of how the body moves and what keeps it from moving well, they promote wellness, mobility and independence. They treat
and prevent many problems caused by pain, illness, disability and disease, sport and work related injuries, ageing and inactivity.
Physiotherapists are educated over several years, giving them a full knowledge of the body’s systems and the skills to treat a wide range of
problems. This education is usually university-based, at a level that allows physiotherapists to practise independently. Continuing education
ensures that they keep up to date with the latest advances in research and practice. Many physiotherapists are engaged in research
themselves.
About World Physiotherapy
World Physiotherapy is the profession’s global body representing over 685,000 physiotherapists from member organisations in 125
countries/territories. More information: www.world.physio