Why Is Rehabilitation So Important After an Injury?

The human body is an incredible thing, and often does an amazing job of healing after an injury. However, it might not heal as quickly as if it would with rehabilitation. In fact, for many injuries, rehab might be needed to get back to anything like your original condition.

Some people stay away from rehabilitation for fear of the costs of going to physio or other therapies. In the case of many injuries stemming from accidents you might not be at fault for, a personal injury lawyer will be able to take action and claim damages to cover the treatment needed.

What is Rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation comes in many different forms. The dictionary definition is “the action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy”. In the case of physical rehabilitation after an injury, this could come in the form of education, kinesiology, exercise, and therapy that can help to speed up the process and strengthen the body. 

For instance, if you are struggling to walk after a car accident, rehabilitation would form a stage of your recovery, to help build up the muscles or even joint function you require.

Types of Rehabilitation Therapy

Rehabilitation can be a very unique program. This is why it is vital to get proper medical advice throughout the process.

Physical therapy is one of the most common types of rehabilitation. Within this are different exercises and treatments to try to help with mobility, balance, or even simple daily functions like walking. After a severe injury, physical therapy might be what you need to get back to the point of “normality”.

Rehabilitation and physical therapy can help to manage chronic illnesses like arthritis.

Occupational rehabilitation therapy is another type of rehabilitation. It is specific to different careers. Some jobs require specific physical attributes that might need to be monitored or treated with rehabilitation.

Respiratory and speech therapies are other forms of rehabilitation. These can help people after an illness or an injury to regain something as simple as the ability to speak. In some cases, people need speech therapy from a very early age, as some inherited diseases or birth defects can cause you to struggle to ever learn to speak. A number of activities and techniques have been proven to make huge impacts on this, and speech therapists can help some people to gain, or regain full speech capacities.

Respiratory therapy can be useful to manage breathing difficulties stemming from an injury or a long-term illness. It might involve aspects such as learning to use inhalers properly or learning how to ensure you take on enough oxygen.

How Rehabilitation Services can Help You

Rehabilitation is different for everyone. One of the vital things about any form of rehabilitation is that the medical professionals involved need to create a tailored plan to help you achieve your goals.

Your goals could be to get back to playing an elite sport, or they might just be something as simple as improving your speech after an accident or illness or regaining the ability to walk that so many people take for granted.

Many of the benefits of rehabilitation services include:

• Allowing you to live a more “normal” life, and return to a lifestyle you had before an accident.

• Freeing you of some of the pain that you are experiencing as a result of injury or illness.

• Strengthening the body so you are less at risk of recurrence of injuries.

• Healing more quickly than the body otherwise would if not helped by rehabilitation services.

A plan should be devised with the consideration of illnesses and injuries that have happened to you. That means that each scenario will be different. Your rehabilitation is unique to you but it will help you to reach your health goals, whatever they may be.

Rehabilitation costs 

Rehabilitation costs vary hugely. Where you live makes a difference, and naturally, the specific injuries and illnesses you are struggling with will impact what you have to pay.

The average cost in 2020, according to one study, was found to be $75-150 per session. If you have an insurance policy that can copay, this could be reduced to $20-55. 

Different types of rehabilitation don’t cost the same. Some require more specialist skills and longer sessions which can lead to it being far more pricey. How long you need treatment or also dictates the final cost.

Another thing that will impact the cost of therapy and rehabilitation is whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient. If you need to be in a hospital around the clock, this will greatly increase the costs, so you can see why people take legal action if the injury or accident was not their fault.