e ichigan Daily
Vol. XCI, No. 27-S
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, June 12, 1981
Ten Cents
Sixteen Pages
Earthquake
rips through
eastern Iran
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP)-A strong
earthquake rocked southeastern Iran
early yesterday, and Prime Minister
Mohammad Ali Rajai said between
1,500 and 3,000 people were killed,
Tehran Radio reported.
Rajai told his countrymen the
disaster was so large "that it is im-
possible to compensate for it without
public aid and the revolutionary
sacrifice of heroic people."
EARLIER, A spokesman for the
governor general's office in stricken
Kerman province said between 1,000 to
1,500 people were killed.
A Tehran Radio dispatch from the
province said more than 1,500 seriously
wounded were moved to hospitals.
In Gol Bagh, hardest-hit village in the
province, 500 to 600 people were injured
and "rescuers still are pulling victims
from the massive rubble," a
spokesman for the governor general's
office said in a telephone interview with
The Associated Press here.
TWO-THIRDS of Gol Bagh's houses
were destroyed and more casualties
were feared in the area, which has
40,000 inhabitants, he said.
Tehran Radio said food, medicine,
blankets and Red Crescent-Iran's Red
Cross-personnel were being flown in
by helicopter; the injured were ferried
out to undamaged hospitals on return
flights.
The broadcast said the governor-
general had orderea all security forces
mobilized for the disaster, described as
one of the worst in the quake-prone
region in years.
THE CITY OF Kerman, capital of the
copper- and coal-mining province that
has a population of 1.2 million, suffered
minor damage 'to a few houses, accor-
ding to the spokesman, who declined to
give his name.
Earlier, Iran's official Pars news
agency confirmed that reports of a
strong earthquake had reached Tehran,
but that there were no immediate ac-
counts of the extent of the damage.
The quake registered 6.9 on the
Richter scale, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey in Golden, Colo.
Spokesman Don Finley said the quake
was centered around Kerman, about
500 miles southeast of Tehran.
A judge at one of the third annual Hospitality Week contests, held between
local restaurant and hotel employees, carefully measures the remaining
champagne after a competitor successfully completed an obstacle course in
Liberty Plaza with full wine glasses. The inset is of this contest's winner,
Dave Deaver. For the story, see pg. 3.
Therapists call role indispensable
By LOU FINTOR
Medical campus reporter
While administrators debate the necessity of a
physical therapy training program at the University,
professionals within the field are increasingly defen-
sive about their role in medicine-which they seem
"indispensable."
Indeed, the development of physical therapy and
rehabilitative medicine during the past two decades
has not only increased the quality of life for disabled
patients deemed "limited functional," but allowed
them in most cases to lead relatively normal lives,
according to many health care officials.
"Physical therapists work with any type of patient
who has had any traumatic injury or faces disability
from surgery or illness," said Jim Dolecki, chief,
physical therapist at Ann Arbor Veterans Ad-
ministration Hospital.
Dolecki compared the prognosis for patients with
injuries two years ago with the prognosis for the same
patient today, with new treatments and the increased
role of the physical therapist.
Case # 1: A 20-year-old is involved in
a multiple car accident, and one leg is
amputated. ,
1961 Prognosis- "limited functional
ability"
In 1981, with the physical therapist using whirlpool
therapy to aid in countering infection, comprehensive
"strength building" exercises, and new patient
education techniques, the patient can now lead a
normal life.
Case # 2: A 15-year-old falls from a
diving board and suffers spinal cord in-
juries. Paralysis.
1961 Prognosis- "total dependency
on institutional care."
1981-An extensive physical rehabilitation
program supervised by a physical therapist, patient
education and support, and a follow-up program
allows the patient to retain a high degree of indepen-
deince.
Case #3: A retiree suffers a massive
stroke.
1961 Prognosis- "chronic in-
stitutional nursing care"
1981-With intensive rehabilitation, family care in-
struction, and recent advancements in better clinical
equipment, the patient can return home to her family
and maintain some degree of independence.
While Dolecki maintains that cases must be
evaluated individually and the prognosis may vary,
in general through a comprehensive therapy)
program with a physical therapist, the success rate is
astounding, he says.
According to Dolecki, the therapist employs a
variety of clinical therapies, summarizing the main
techniques to include: reality training, self-
mobilization, self-care, several exercise modalities,
and facilitation exercises.
"OUR MAIN GOAL is to help the patient increase
the quality of their life, so they won't be totally
dependent upon others," said Dolecki.
University Hospital Physical Therapy Director
Marcia Wightman said her program is divided into
three main divisions: Children/Pediatrics, Cardio-
Pulmonary Rehabilitation, and General Clinical
Treatment.
According to Wightman, the programs treat
several afflictions and they involve terminal,
chronic, and short-term problems, with an emphasis
on rehabilitation.a
SHE SAID -THE rehabilitative process employs a
variety of techniques, and they can include
ultrasound, cold modalities, electrical stimulation,
water treatments, educational services, and basic
exercise techniques.
Wightman said that the scope of physical therapy
has expanded in recent years and that, in addition,
the therapist has become more sophisticated in
evaluative techniques.
"In addition to providing direct patient treatments,
the physical therapists are involved extensively in
patient education," said Wightman. "The treatment
that we give helps the patient to improve his con-
dition, but many times we have to teach the patient to
See PHYSICAL, Page 7