Rehabilitation is a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions. In simple terms, rehabilitation is a process of helping a person to restore or improve physical, mental, and cognitive abilities that may have been lost or affected because of a disease or injury. Moreover, rehabilitation can improve daily life and functioning. The goal of rehabilitation is to help people get their skills back and regain independence in everyday activities. However, the specific aims are different for each person and depend on the root of the problem, whether the cause is ongoing or temporary, which abilities are lost, and how severe the problem is. The rehabilitation workforce is made of different health professionals, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, prosthetists, and physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors. The types of treatments that may be in a rehabilitation plan include
- assistive devices, which are equipment and tools that help people with disabilities move and function;
- cognitive rehabilitation therapy to help people relearn or improve skills such as learning, memory, and decision making;
- mental health counseling;
- nutritional counseling;
- occupational therapy to help people with their daily activities;
- physical therapy to improve people‘s strength, mobility, and fitness;
- recreational therapy to improve peoples emotional well-being through arts and crafts, relaxation training,
- speech-language therapy to help with speaking, understanding, reading, writing,
- vocational rehabilitation helps people build skills for going to school or working at a job.
Finally, rehabilitation can be provided in many different settings, from inpatient or outpatient hospital settings to private clinics or community settings such as an individual’s home.