A b s t r a c t

PHYSIOTHERAPY FOR THE 
SEQUELAE OF PHYSICAL TORTURE: 

UGANDA’S EXPERIENCE
AUTHOR: MR. MAYANJA FRED

A B S T R A C T
The paper discusses the African Centre 
for treatment and rehabilitation o f torture 
victim s (ACTV) which was established 
in U ganda in 1993. The ACTV is a non­
governmental organisation offering treat­
ment to the victims of torture. Profes­
sional staff at the centre include a physio­
therapist, clinical psychologist, social 
w orker, psy ch iatrist and psychiatric 
nurses. Specialised medical services out­
side o f these areas that may be required, 
are provided by outside specialists.

Torture com m only involves both phy­
sical and psychological abuse and is 
often adm inistered by individuals on 
behalf o f an institution or organisation 
with the aim of punishing or intimidating 
a victim or attempting to obtain informa­
tion from  a victim. Physical torture may

involve beatings, kickings, tyings, sus­
pensions in forced positions, hard labour 
and other such physical abuse.

Apart from  offering treatm ent and 
rehabilitation services the ACTV aims to 
raise awareness in the public arena con­
cerning the plight o f torture victims 
through workshops and seminars con­
ducted in hospitals, schools and other 
institutions. Services are carried out both 
at the centre and in the community where 
satellite centres have been established. 
Referrals to the ACTV come from a wide 
variety o f sources including, hospitals, 
hum an rights institutions, com m unity 
leaders and self-referral.

From  July to D ecem ber 1997 the 
p h y siotherapist w orking at the centre 
conducted a survey o f clients referred to 
the ACTV. During this period 309 people

were referred to the centre; 45%  male 
and 55% female. (See table below)

In this survey appro x im ately '90% of 
the clients were referred for physiothe­
rapy and 10% were referred to other spe­
cialists. It was reported that 97% o f the 
victims showed im provem ent following 
treatm ent although the criteria for this 
are not discussed.

An em phasis regarding the respectful 
and ethical handling o f clients is em pha­
sised throughout the paper. For exam ple 
not pursuing a particular line o f question­
ing should the client not want to answer 
a particular question; avoiding the use of 
equipm ent that may rem ind the client of 
their torture (eg. ropes and certain elec­
trotherapy apparatus), and listening care­
fully to the clien t’s concerns regarding 
their treatment.

N um be r Con dition Percen tage

1. Bachache 26.3%
2. Cervical pain 3.7%
3. Chest pain 13.4%
4. Upper limb pains 5.7%
5. Lower limb pains 11.8%
6. Numbness/parasthesia 4.0%
7. Sciatica 1.8%
8. Oedema 1.2%
9. Amputation 0.2%
10. Fractures 1.0%
11. Poor breathing 3.1%
12. Muscle weakness 6.2%
13. General muscle pain 10.3%
14. Joint pains 5.3%
15. Joint stiffness 4.1%

16. Pelvic inflammatory disease 1.5%
17. Poor posture 0.3
18. Facial palsy 0.1%

ABSTRACT PREPARED BY: MR T. PAULSEN

SA J o u r n a l o f  Ph y s io t h e r a p y 1999 V o l  55 No 4 29

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