What is rehabilitation?

Author: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewer: Shannon Sproule | Published: 25 September 2017 | Updated: ~

Rehabilitation is the process of recovering function and independence after a spinal cord injury (SCI).

Illustration accompanying What is rehabilitation?

Part of rehabilitation may focus on developing mobility skills, like walking or using a wheelchair.1

“Rehabilitation” (or simply “rehab”) describes both this process and the health services (like the programs, hospitals, and centers) that support it.

After leaving an acute care hospital after SCI, most people move to a “rehabilitation center” or ‘rehabilitation hospital’, where they focus on recovering and developing the skills for living with an SCI long-term.

Rehabilitation is tailored to each person’s unique needs and goals. It may involve medical and nursing care, rehabilitation therapies (like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or respiratory therapy), and a number of other health services to help ease the transition from the hospital to the community.

 

Susana describe her experience with regaining hand function through rehabilitation.

 

Listen to Lidia describe what going through rehabilitation was like for her.