Category:Rehabilitation Foundations

This category will group all content related to the foundations of rehabilitation and rehabilitation therapy for physiotherapists'.

Rehabilitation is the act of restoring something to its original state, like the rehabilitation of the forest that had once been cleared for use as an amusement park. The noun rehabilitation comes from the Latin prefix re-, meaning “again” and habitare, meaning “make fit.”

Rehabilitation is a process designed to maximise the potential of patients/clients. It can occur in a variety of settings; either an inpatient or outpatient hospital department, community health or rehabilitation centres (usually aligned with a hospital or health network) or in a patient's home environment and will often involve a multidisciplinary team (MDT). The multidisciplicary team would often include (but not be limited to) Physiotherapists, Occupational therapists, Medical doctors, Nurses, Social workers and Speech and language therapists.

What are considered the foundations of rehabilitation? This can range from basic observation and palpation of a simple joint, to multi-step special tests, provocatory neural testing, biomechanical analysis of movement & gait, manual muscle testing, strength assessment, range of motion assessment and more. A sound anatomical and physiological knowledge is imperative for best practice and a therapist's skills are forever being refined as their experience level increases.

For patients to be considered suitable for an inpatient rehab program, they generally need to be medically stable (Afebrile, no acute issues or disease processes), have potential for functional improvement, and need to be willing to participate in a multidisciplinary program.

Most Rehab programs will use a variety of standardised outcome measures to evaluate progress in Rehab.

The setting of goals is fundamental to Rehab programs. Goals should be set in collaboration with patients and their family or carers. Where possible, goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and have a Time frame (or SMART goal setting).