Category: rehabilitation

Accident victims sometimes need physical rehabilitation in order to return to some semblance of normalcy in their daily lives. An accident can leave a person without the use of certain physical functions and physical rehabilitation can often restore those functions or retrain specific muscles to do the work normally performed by the now damaged ones.

As a child, people learn to walk, climb and perform other physical activities by being taught and through practice. This helps train the muscles to act in a certain way while performing certain functions. When, as an adult, a person is involved in an accident that may prevent those muscles from functioning, they may need physical rehabilitation to retrain those muscles or to train other muscles to perform those tasks.

One aspect of physical rehabilitation often overlooked is the mental awareness of what is attempting to be accomplished as well as the mental preparedness to become involved in the retraining exercises. There are some who have a hard time accepting the reality that they have to begin over from the start in learning how to walk, for instance. It can be a difficult mental adjustment as well as a physical one.

Beginning Life For The Second Time

A person who loses the use of certain muscles may have to learn to use other muscles to perform the same functions as those lost. It may not always be possible to substitute as, for example, a person who has lost the ability to walk has to other muscles that can help with that function. However, with the correct mental attitude and proper physical rehabilitation a person may be able to restrengthen their leg muscles and through training learn how to walk again.

Perhaps a person s muscles, through an extended recovery period, has lost their strength or mobility. It will require physical rehabilitation in order to bring those muscles back to their original strength and mobility. For example, a burn victim may have been unable to walk for several months and their muscles will require retraining and strengthening in order to work properly.

The same will probably be true with arm muscles and others that went for an extended period without being used. The physical rehabilitation may also include sessions related to mental health to help maintain a positive attitude throughout the physical rehabilitation sessions. With the mental attitude, there may be a reluctance to put forth the effort required for complete physical rehabilitation.

When a person is injured on the job one of the main considerations is to get that person back to work as soon as possible to help regain their emotional strength as being a productive member of the family. Sometimes occupational rehabilitation will be needed to get them back into the work force and other times, they will need to find a different occupation due to the severity of the injury.

Very few people injured on the job get excited about the prospect of being off work for an extended period of time and typically the longer a person remains off the job, the more depressed they will begin to feel. Most have a need to feel a sense of worth and occupational rehabilitation can help restore that feeling as a person heals. Whether the injury or illness has caused a need for different occupational direction will be up to the doctor and the therapists involved in occupational rehabilitation.

Typically, when a person is injured on the job, once their condition is out of the critical stage, occupational rehabilitation to return the person to the job begins. Analysis of the injury and how it affects a person s ability to perform the job functions as well as what will be needed to return the person to a condition in which they can safely perform the job will be studied.

Diagnosis Of Need Determines Therapy Direction

Once the need for therapy has been determined generally a structured program will begin to bring the person s physical abilities back to the needed strength and, if necessary, the range of motion they enjoyed prior to the accident. Several sessions of occupational rehabilitation may be needed over an extended period of time and in certain circumstances may need to be continued even after the person has returned to work.

Studies have shown that once a person has been returned to work, even if in a less than full capacity status, the remaining recovery typically progresses at a faster pace. This mental adjustment adds to the confidence of the injured person and makes them more willing to make adjustments.

When occupational rehabilitation is progressing, the company may make adjustments to the persons work environment in order to accommodate the injured person while occupational rehabilitation continues. By making these accommodations the company is telling the injured employee that they value the functions they provide and are willing to do what is necessary to help them completely recover.