Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is the process of restoring the health and working capacity of sick and disabled people. It includes all forms of social, occupational and medical rehabilitation. The main goals of rehabilitation are to ensure the patient's rapid recovery and adaptation to everyday life and work.
Rehabilitation is the restoration of a patient's mental and physical abilities. It can be used as a follow-up treatment after an operation or as medical rehabilitation following trauma or illness. It includes services and measures to restore psychological, mental and physical functions.
Many patients seek rehabilitation due to spinal cord injury (paresis, hemiparesis, etc.) after orthopaedic surgeries (knee, hip replacement, etc.) and road traffic accidents. In addition, more and more requests are going toward rehabilitation for cancer patients.
Within rehabilitation, great importance is attached to achieving the most significant possible degree of individual independence. Therefore, the secondary goal is to reintegrate the patient into social and working life.
There are three main types of rehabilitation:
- Medical rehabilitation aims to help patients return to their original condition as well as possible after a severe injury or illness so that they can actively participate in a professional and social life again.
- Social rehabilitation includes all services that enable the patient to lead a comfortable life in the community again.
- Occupational rehabilitation helps to reintegrate patients with disabilities or health restrictions into working life. The measures include, for example, further education, professional training measures, workshops for people with disabilities and retraining.
Description of a rehabilitation program
The main rehabilitation methods include manual therapy, diet therapy, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, drug and autogenic treatment, kinesiotherapy, acupuncture, etc.
The main stages of rehabilitation:
- Restorative therapy is physiological and psychological preparation with the patient before the primary procedures.
- Readaptation means a gradual increase in the volume of rehabilitation measures and psychological impact to adapt to environmental conditions.
- Rehabilitation is a home adaptation aiming to fully or partially restore lost functions.
Modern centres have sophisticated robotic and computerised rehabilitation devices in their arsenal. Thanks to modern equipment, the recovery process is faster and more efficient:
- Therasuit is a therapeutic-rehabilitation suit developed by US specialists to rehabilitate patients with neurological disorders after traumatic brain injuries and strokes. It simulates the correct load on all body parts, normalises muscle tone, increases the amplitude and range of motion, and improves control over previously non-functioning muscle groups.
- A walking robot is a device for restoring walking skills and mobility of the lower extremities. The system helps patients learn to walk again. Depending on the individual characteristics of the trauma, the system records all the necessary indicators and provides a reasonable load on specific muscle groups of the patient.
- Amadeo system is the only mechanised device to restore the functions of the hand and each finger individually. The device helps patients with various motor disorders of the fingers and hand in general and upper limb conditions due to brain and spinal cord injuries.
- The vertical traction method is one of the most effective methods of physiotherapeutic treatment of pain in the lumbar and cervical spine associated with the formation of intervertebral hernias. During therapy, the device gradually stretches the spine, increasing the distance between the vertebral bodies. Due to this, structures clamped by parts of the intervertebral disc are released, which leads to the cessation of pain.
There are also six common steps in rehabilitation:
- Healing constraints and proving needs;
- Controlling joint effusion and inflammation;
- Restoring range of motion;
- Restoring strength and proving progress;
- Restoring function;
- Proving outcome.
How are the candidates for rehabilitation?
There are many possible indications for restoration, the most common of which are:
- recovery of health after sports injuries and accidents;
- improvement of psycho-emotional state;
- restoration of motor and speech function;
- stimulation of processes to restore the work of internal organs (usually after surgeries);
- elimination of negative consequences due to a sedentary lifestyle (sedentary work);
- elimination of stiffness and pain after injuries;
- depressed emotional state;
- memory impairment and problems with language function;
- headache and dizziness;
- long-term pain syndrome in a specific part of the body (place of stabbing, impact or sports injury);
- problems with the functioning of the limbs: numbness and stiffness;
- muscle atrophy.
The vast majority of patients for rehabilitation are due to orthopaedic, neurological, traumatic and malignant conditions. Therefore, it's usual that patients might need to restore their function after orthopaedic interventions and injuries. However, nowadays, great attention is paid to neurological conditions (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease) when patients lose the ability to self-care, so rehabilitation becomes essential for them.
Benefits of having rehabilitation abroad
Patients who undergo the necessary rehabilitation course receive undeniable benefits:
- Preservation, improvement or restoration of health as well as earning capacity and performance;
- Ability to actively deal with the disease in a self-determined manner;
- Avoidance of permanent work-related and social functional restrictions;
- Preventing the condition from getting worse;
- Avoiding the process from becoming chronic;
- Maintaining participation in social life despite possible limitations, successful reintegration into working life.
More and more patients are coming for rehabilitation abroad. There are advantages for international travellers like advanced robotic rehabilitation devices, qualified rehab specialists, specialized rehabilitation centres with a combined approach under one roof, and affordable costs compared with the US, Canada and UK.
Possible complications associated with rehabilitation
Generally, rehabilitation has few complications because patients are already severely ill, and specialists aim to improve their condition. Most of the contraindication is related to ongoing inflammations or accompanying disease that requires immediate treatment instead of improvement.
There are some states and disorders when doctors can not recommend restoration because it gives no results but risks:
- The process of worsening chronic pathologies;
- Increase in body temperature;
- The presence of purulent-necrotic lesions of the skin;
- Advanced cancer stages;
- Conduction and heart rhythm disturbances;
- Mental pathologies.
Comeback to everyday activity after rehabilitation
There are recommended steps to a successful rehabilitation to get you on track to the best recovery possible. The duration of the rehabilitation course after can be both long and short. However, for a full-fledged result of the program, it is necessary to follow the rehabilitation plan and perform all the exercises and procedures.
Effects of the rehabilitation:
- Improvement of blood circulation and tissue healing;
- Restoration of lost or damaged movement;
- Creation of the correct model of neuromuscular work;
- Increasing the amplitude of movement;
- Prevention of the development of secondary diseases;
- Restoration of the psycho-emotional state.
FAQ
What doctors are involved in rehabilitation?
- Neurologists and orthopaedics work with the primary cause of a patient's condition.
- Physiotherapists provide physical intervention to maintain a healthy body.
- An occupational therapist teaches a person with disabilities to perform everyday functions.
- A speech therapist is engaged in restoring the patient's speech and swallowing.
- Social workers must provide people with disabilities with means of transportation and specific living conditions.
- Of course, such a team cannot do without specially trained nurses to carry out rehabilitation activities.
Why is rehabilitation abroad so widespread?
Foreign medical care provides modern rehabilitation methods and has tremendous results even in the most challenging cases. Usually, rehabilitation abroad includes high-tech equipment like robotic rehabilitation machines and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), unavailable locally. People also choose centres abroad specifically for rehabilitation after surgery or as a result of chronic disease because of the opportunity to change the atmosphere, to enjoy a new environment and nature.
How to find a suitable rehabilitation centre?
Choosing a rehabilitation centre, patients should consider clinic rating and equipment, certification and doctors, reviews and success rate. It is enough to leave a request or call the AiroMedical manager. A team of practising doctors will select the most optimal option, considering your needs, wishes and budget. AiroMedical cooperates with the world's leading centres and ensures that each patient receives the highest level of medical care, including rehabilitation.
Can a patient in severe condition travel for rehabilitation?
If the matter concerns an acute severe condition of the patient, rehabilitation is contraindicated until the doctor stabilises the state. In the future, travelling for rehabilitation courses abroad will be safe. Now it is pretty realistic to provide the patient with all the necessary conditions for transportation and medical care in the desired clinic.
What effects rehabilitation cost?
- A set of procedures for rehabilitation: their number, complexity, automation and frequency;
- The severity of the patient's condition;
- Diagnosis and accompanying diseases;
- The need for additional diagnostic methods to monitor the patient's condition;
- Availability of modern robotic installations;
- Conditions of stay and choice of ward or room;
- Location of the rehabilitation centre.
What are the best clinics for Rehabilitation?
Who are the best doctors for Rehabilitation?
Dr. Bozena Klysz, Ph.D. from Constance Care Robotic Rehabilitation Centre Warsaw
Prof. Dr. med. Dirk Sander from Rehabilitation Centre Benedictus Feldafing
Dr. med. Sonja Herzberg from Rehabilitation Centre Benedictus Feldafing
Prof. Dr. med. Rainer Freynhagen, DEAA from Rehabilitation Centre Benedictus Feldafing
Dr. med. Adrian Grund from Rehabilitation Centre Benedictus Feldafing
Average price range
The average cost of rehabilitation abroad is about 150 $ - 2,300 $ per day. The main price factors are whether the program is complex and requires an inpatient stay or it's simpler and can be performed on an outpatient basis. Such a wide range is associated with a large number of circumstances that shape the price:
- Procedures for rehabilitation: their number, complexity, automation and frequency;
- Medical condition;
- Accompanying diseases;
- Additional diagnostic methods;
- Availability of modern robotic equipment;
- Type of ward or room;
- Location of the rehabilitation centre.
Clinic choice is one of the significant cost factors. There are more or less expensive locations; centres might be equipped with the latest devices while some can perform pretty usual procedures. Finally, the right centre should pay great attention to the qualification of doctors, certification and statistics.