Rehabilitation

By : Dr.Hassan Hussien El- sharkawy

The Rehabilitation Team 

a “multidisciplinary team” could be a group of specialist (consultant) physicians from different medical specialties, such as anesthesiology, neurology, rheumatology, orthopedics, psychiatry, orofacialspecialists, geriatrics, neurosurgery, oncology, paediatrics, pharmacology and rehabilitation medicine.

This is a group of highly qualified specialists who meet to discuss,and formed to help the patient recover from his present state of illness to a normal state of health

Physiatrist : 

The Physiatrist is the leader of the rehabilitation team.

He assesses the patient carefully and monitors the patient’s progress. He decides what all medical services the patient needs and thenHe will design a patient oriented treatment program based on which the other members of the team will be decided.

His specialization is physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Role of the team

Neuropsychologist : 

Often after a serious illness or brain damage, a patient may not able to behave or think as he use to before the accident.. So a Neuropsychologist monitors these changes and then designs such programs that will help the patient recover quickly.

A Neuropsychologist will also educate the family members of the patient to accept this change in the patient and ways to deal with it.

Physical Therapist : 

After a traumatic brain injury a person may suffer from musculoskeletal or neuromuscular issues.

The work of a physical rehabilitation therapist is to work on improving this problem of the patient.

He will focus on the development of posture, strength, physical independence, quality movement, balance coordination and other sensory motor activities.

Nurses: 

Nurses who deal with rehabilitation patients are trained to take care of the everyday need of the patients.

Often after severe brain or physical injury a person may find it difficult to take care of oneself, so these nurses are trained to take care of patients.

Speech/Language Pathologist: 

A person suffering from any sort of brain injury may face difficulty in talking clearly.

Therefore, it becomes difficult for the family members to understand what the patient is trying to say .

In such cases, a speech therapist helps the patient by checking his condition and then designing a specific program of exercises and therapies that would help him communicate with the society.

Occupational Therapist: 

The work of an occupational therapist is to make a patient learn advanced independence skills that will help him in various ways in his personal life.

The patient will be taught cooking, laundering, shopping and banking by an occupational therapist.

Recreational Therapist: 

Recreational Therapist The job of a recreational therapist is to make a patient indulge in all those activities that the patient enjoys.

He brings a positive attitude in a patient by making the latter realize that life can be fun and enjoyable.

Counselor: 

Counselor After any kind of a traumatic incident, be it accident or illness a patient goes through depression and other negative feelings.

It is very important that a rehab counselor counsels the patient and adds positive attitude in him.

Other types of therapists

Inhalation therapists, audiologists, and registered dietitians are other types of therapists.

Inhalation therapists help the patient learn to use respirators and other breathing aids to restore or support breathing.

Audiologists help diagnose the patient's hearing loss and recommend solutions.

Dietitians provide dietary advice to help the patient recover from or avoid specific problems or diseases.