Regain Your Abilities with Medical Rehabilitation
Depending on the severity, an injury or illness can have long-lasting effects even after discharge. This can negatively affect a patient’s quality of life by seriously limiting their ability to perform basic, everyday tasks they once took for granted. However, medical rehabilitative services can help them learn ways to cope with their limitations and build back the strength needed to find a sense of normalcy. This National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, learn more about rehabilitation, who’s eligible, and its many benefits.
What Is Medical Rehab?
As defined by the American Medical Rehabilitative Providers Association (AMRPA), medical rehabilitation refers to a group of inpatient therapy services that are “ordered by your doctor to help you recover from an illness or injury.” Rehabilitation can take on many forms, but three of the most common rehab services are:
- Physical therapy is designed to help patients regain mobility and movement and perform functional activities that maximize their quality of life.
- Speech therapy focuses on improving or restoring speech, communication, and swallowing abilities after an injury or illness.
- Occupational therapy retrains patients on how to perform basic, everyday tasks such as getting dressed, going to work, or cooking by incorporating activities (i.e., occupations) the patient enjoys most in a personalized therapy plan.
During rehab, therapists may employ numerous techniques, including assistive devices, cognitive rehabilitation therapy (i.e., relearning or improving skills like thinking, learning, memory, planning, and decision making), mental health counseling, music or art therapy, nutritional counseling, pain treatment, and vocational and recreational rehabilitation. Regardless of techniques therapists use, the goal remains the same: to help each patient achieve their full, functional potential.
Who Needs Medical Rehab?
Medical rehab may be recommended for any patients who have lost the abilities they need to function in everyday life after an inpatient stay. The list of qualifying conditions is long and can vary based on the severity of its effects, but some common illnesses and conditions include:
- Injuries and trauma such as burns, fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries
- Stroke
- Severe infections
- Major surgery, including amputations
- Side effects from medical treatments, including cancer treatment
- Birth defects and genetic disorders
- Developmental disabilities
- Chronic and worsening pain such as back and neck pain and arthritis
The Impact of Medical Rehab
Medical rehab works. The AMRPA reports patients treated with inpatient rehab services experienced better outcomes, fewer visits to emergency departments, and lived longer than similar patients treated in skilled nursing facilities. The AMRPA also reports inpatient rehab patients had fewer hospital readmissions for pain, brain injuries, medical complications, hip fractures, and amputations compared to patients from skilled nursing facilities.