Spinal cord injury rehabilitation is necessary following a spinal cord injury in order to maximize recovery and maybe adjust to a new way of life. A complete rehabilitation team for spinal cord injuries collaborates with you and your family to:
The rehabilitation team for spinal cord injuries handles patients with tumors of the spinal cord, infections of the spinal cord or vertebrae, transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, multiple sclerosis, myelopathies, spinal cord infarctions, and aneurysms, among other causes of traumatic or non-traumatic spinal cord injuries.
Your spinal cord runs through your spine and descends from your brain. Your spinal cord carries messages from your brain to your body. These signals facilitate voluntary movements of your limbs, such as picking up a cup or going to the mailbox. Your spinal cord carries messages from your arms, legs, and other parts of your body back to your brain while you do your daily activities.
Your body and brain may not be able to communicate normally if you have a spinal cord injury. In order to treat a spinal cord injury, you might require surgery or other therapies. As part of your treatment, you might then need to stay for a while in a rehabilitation center, or "rehab."
Rehab may assist you in regaining some of the functions that your injury has taken away from you. It could be necessary for you to acquire skills like body control, self-care, and wheelchair use. The kind of injury you sustained will determine the exercises you do during recovery.
Following a spinal injury, complications could be possible.
Possible complications are:
Your therapists will assist you with various exercises and mobility during your stay in rehab. Thus, during recovery, another injury might occur. However, your therapist will exercise extreme caution to avoid further harm. Your workouts and activities may also cause you to experience muscle soreness.
Other risks can be present based on your particular medical condition. Make sure to address any worries you may have with your physician before entering rehab.
Additionally, there's a chance that some of the effects of your injury won't be fully resolved or helped by your treatment.
When you start a rehabilitation program, it will be decided by your medical professionals.
You might begin receiving treatment from rehab professionals while you're still in the hospital. Depending on your needs, a rehabilitation team may include a range of specialists. A physiatrist, often known as a physician who does physical medicine and rehabilitation, would most likely oversee your rehab program. This healthcare professional focuses on rehabilitation. Additional members on the group could be:
Your rehabilitation specialists will go over the potential short- and long-term outcomes with you. The nature of your injury and your level of strength below the injury will determine these outcomes.
Your providers may assist you with the following duties while you're in rehab:
Moving around: You might be able to walk with braces, depending on the severity of your injuries. Or perhaps you need a wheelchair. You will become proficient with these mobility aids.
Dealing with Complications: Your rehabilitation specialists will teach you how to avoid and manage difficulties if your accident results in significant alterations to the way your body functions. If you have abnormal bowel and bladder function, you may need to see an expert for treatment of any consequences.
Adopting an alternative approach to things: To help you become more independent, your providers might teach you how to roll over in bed, take a shower, and perform other daily tasks like getting in and out of a car.
Individual therapists may work with you on specific tasks such as job-related skills and everyday life routines like dressing and eating.
In order to determine whether your house is secure and convenient for you, your rehab specialists could provide an evaluation. For example, he or she will assist you in deciding whether your home will be wheelchair-accessible or if your bathroom will need to be improved for safety. After rehab, you could require certain appliances and equipment for your house.
The management of individuals with a Spinal Cord Injury can be divided into 3 Phases;
Rehabilitation strategies during the acute and subacute phases of treatment focus mainly on resolving underlying impairments, optimizing function, boosting neurorecovery, and preventing subsequent problems. During the chronic phase, compensatory or supportive strategies are used frequently.
Every member of the multidisciplinary team is involved in preventing complications from neurological compromise or spinal instability. Early on after an accident, the main goals of physiotherapy care are to prevent and treat respiratory and circulatory problems, as well as to lessen the negative effects of immobilization on the patient, such as the development of contractures and pressure ulcers.
The ideal place for people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) to receive the therapy they require is a dedicated SCI unit. The entire person—their physical, psychological, occupational, and social backgrounds—must be taken into account during rehabilitation. The purpose of the goal-directed, time-limited rehabilitation approach is to enable the individual to regain as much independence as possible and to best reintegrate into their chosen lifestyle and role in the community.
A crucial part of the recovery process after a spinal cord injury is physiotherapy, which consists of a range of interventions addressing several domains in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), such as participation, activity limitation, and body function and structure. Many of the interventions in physiotherapy are aimed at preventing rather than treating impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. Participation in the community, productive employment, interpersonal connections, and leisure activities are all aspects that are focused in this type of management.
Depending on the severity and kind of the lesion, people who have spinal cord injuries may have numerous complex needs and face extensive, long-term limitations in their ability to live independently, drive or use public transportation, go back to work or school, engage in leisure activities, and interact with others. In order to satisfy the long-term and ongoing needs of individuals with spinal cord injuries, integrated community rehabilitation programs and long-term support are necessary for successful long-term treatment. Active case management with case managers who possess the necessary education, clinical experience, and service knowledge to coordinate care beyond initial rehabilitation and guarantee continuous individualized case management for patients with complex or ongoing needs is considered best practice in long-term care.
Although there are challenges in living with spinal cord injury, rehabilitation gives you the abilities you need to succeed. Through understanding of the stages and willingness to accept the provided help, you can start your rehabilitation process with confidence and hope.