Rehabilitation Medicine
Slow and Steady, One Step at a Time
The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Asan Medical Center is dedicated to restoring physical function and improving quality of life for patients affected by illness or injury. We provide comprehensive and specialized rehabilitation services tailored to each patient’s needs through precise diagnosis and coordinated treatment by multidisciplinary experts.
Our department includes specialized units such as exercise therapy, occupational therapy, thermoelectric therapy, swallowing therapy, speech-language therapy, and cognitive-perceptual therapy. Each unit is staffed by professionals with expertise in their respective fields, delivering personalized rehabilitation programs in designated areas.
In response to the growing public awareness of disability issues and increasing expectations for quality of life, the department continues to advance through an integrated, evidence-based approach rooted in clinical excellence and innovation.
Key Areas of Rehabilitation Services at AMC
The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Asan Medical Center provides specialized rehabilitation treatments and operates dedicated clinics for a wide range of conditions, including:
- Cancer Rehabilitation : Comprehensive care for functional impairments related to cancer and lymphedema management
- Neurorehabilitation : Stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and brain tumors
- Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation : Arthritis, low back pain, amputation, burns, and gait disorders
- Pediatric Rehabilitation : Cerebral palsy, congenital malformations, developmental delays, and genetic disorders
- Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation : Recovery after cardiac surgery and management of chronic respiratory diseases
- Swallowing Rehabilitation
- Geriatric Rehabilitation : Dementia, sarcopenia, and degenerative diseases
- ICU Rehabilitation, Organ Transplation Rehabilitaion
- Neuromuscular Rehabilitation, Prosthetics and Orthotics
Specialized Rehabilitation Clinics
- Cancer Rehabilitation Clinic: Multidisciplinary management for functional decline, pain, and lymphedema following surgery or chemotherapy.
- Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic: Exercise programs to restore cardiopulmonary function after cardiovascular surgery.
- Dementia and Cognitive Rehabilitation Clinic: Cognitive training and caregiver education for patients with early-stage cognitive impairment.
- Swallowing Clinic: Customized rehabilitation therapy based on VFSS and endoscopic evaluations.
- Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinic: Personalized prescription and adaptation training for patients with amputations or gait impairments.
AMC Department of Rehabilitation Medicine: Advancing Toward the World
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In 2024, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Asan Medical Center became the first in Korea to be certified as a Comprehensive Center of Excellence by the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN). This recognition highlights our outstanding capabilities in multidisciplinary care, specialized surgical teams, lymphedema therapists, and genetic diagnostics.
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- We also contribute to the advancement of global rehabilitation medicine by leading congenital heart disease rehabilitation sessions at the European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD), and by actively collaborating with leading rehabilitation institutions in the United States and Europe through international training programs and collaborative partnerships.
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- From 1989 to 2018, our faculty participated in more than 40 international training programs. Notable institutions include Montefiore Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania, NYU Langone, Stanford University, and the Kessler Institute in the U.S.; Manchester in the U.K.; Bobath Memorial Hospital in Osaka, Japan; and a leading cancer rehabilitation hospital in Germany. These programs involved a wide range of professionals, including professors, residents, and therapists.
Commitment to Research, Education, and Innovation
- The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Asan Medical Center regularly hosts the Asan Rehabilitation Symposium and specialized workshops on topics such as dementia rehabilitation and lymphedema management to share the latest clinical knowledge. The department actively participates in both domestic and international conferences and has received numerous academic awards.
- We also host regular webinars with international experts covering a wide range of topics, including exercise programs for lymphedema, interventions in U.S. rehabilitation medicine, robotics and neuroimaging-based rehabilitation, cognitive rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury, and cutting-edge research in early rehabilitation. These efforts help incorporate global advancements and strengthen our clinical expertise.
Key Departmental Statistics (as of 2022)
- Outpatient visits : ~90,000 annually
- Inpatient admissions : ~21,549 annually
- Physical therapy sessions : 148,323
- Occupational therapy sessions : 48,963
- Pediatric therapy sessions : 50,972
- Speech therapy sessions : 11,562
- Electrodiagnostic tests : 6,213
- Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Studies (VFSS) : 3,353
- Prosthetics and orthotics clinic visits : 1,182
- Musculoskeletal ultrasound examinations : 1,067
- Gait and motion analysis tests : 514
Medical Specialities
Take a look at the treatment of major diseases in your department.
Breast Cancer
For the last two decades, AMC Breast Cancer Center has shown excellent treatment results of breast cancer with 89.3% of five-year survival rates of patients with all-stage cancers between 1989 and 2008 while 91.9% of five-year survival rates in all patients between 2003 and 2008, which is a 20% improvement of survival rates in 15 years.
Brain Tumor
The center provides customized treatment to each patient, including all aspects of brain tumor treatment such as skull base surgery, endoscopic operation, neuro-oncology and clinical trials, stereotactic radiosurgery, and neuroendocrinology.
Scoliosis
The Scoliosis Center provides treatment of all types of infantile and adolescent scoliosis (idiopathic, congenital, and neuromuscular) as well as other pediatric spinal disorders. Professors and clinical nurse specialists will offer sufficient explanations and counseling to patients and their parents at the consultation rooms or the counseling room.
Herniated Intervertebral Disc
AMC uses evidence-based practices and offers sports therapy as the first line of treatment in collaboration with the sports health center and the department of rehabilitation medicine. If needed, injection therapy is possible with the department of radiology and the department of anesthesiology and pain medicine.
Doctors
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Eun Jae Ko - Departments
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Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine, Childhood Respiratory and Allergy Center, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention & Rehabilitation Center, Gynecologic Cancer Center, AMC Cancer Institute
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Pediatric Rehabilitation, Pediatric Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Gynecologic Cancer Rehabilitation, Adults with Cerebral Palsy
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Dae Yul Kim - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Stroke Center, Parkinson Alzheimer Center
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Neurorehabilitation, Neuromuscular Rehabilitation, Electromyography
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Won Kim - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention & Rehabilitation Center
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Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, Pain, Sports Rehabilitation, Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Critical Care Rehabilitation, Transplantation Rehabilitation
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Jong Yoon Yoo - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Stroke Center
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Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, Pain, Motion Analysis
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Seung Hak Lee - Departments
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Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Cardiology, Rehabilitation Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention & Rehabilitation Center, Asan Medical Center Heart Institute, AMC Cancer Institute, Lung Cancer Center
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Neurorehabilitation, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Pediatric Rehabilitation, Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation(Low back pain), Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring
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Min Ho Chun - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Stroke Center, Asan Diabetes Center, AMC Cancer Institute, Brain Tumor Center
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Neurorehabilitation, Geriatric Rehabilitation, Orthotics and Prosthetics, Foot Rehabilitation
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Jae Yong Jeon - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, AMC Cancer Institute, Gynecologic Cancer Center, Biliary Tract & Pancreatic Cancer Center, Head and Neck Cancer Center, Life Care Center for Cancer Patients, Breast Cancer Center
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Cancer Rehabilitation, Cancer Pain, Lymphedema, Pulmonary Rehabilitation
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Seungwoo Cha - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Stroke Center, Parkinson Alzheimer Center, Brain Tumor Center, Head and Neck Cancer Center, Breast Cancer Center
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Neurorehabilitation, Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, Cancer Rehabilitation, Pediatric Rehabilitation
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Choi Kyoung Hyo - Departments
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Stroke Center, AMC Cancer Institute, Head and Neck Cancer Center
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Pain, Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, Sports Rehabilitation, Dysphagia Rehabilitation
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WOOCHUL SON - Departments
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Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine
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YOON SOO HOON - Departments
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Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine
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