Neurology, Addiction and Psychiatry Conference

Neurorehabilitation is a specialized area of medical science whose general aim is not only to help the patients regain themselves but also improve the quality of life of such patients. Such conditions may arise due to stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and neurodegenerative diseases. Comprehensive standards are very vital for the practitioners to follow an effective evidence-based rehabilitation approach based on the specific needs of the patient.

Functional assessment of patients-neurorehabilitation focuses on physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. The practitioner uses various scales and tools to assess the functioning of the patient through various dimensions. In the early stages of assessment, measures used typically include motor skills, balance, coordination, and cognitive abilities to enable development of individualized treatment plans. Reassessments need to be repeated over time in order to note responses and modify the interventions accordingly.

Present-day approaches to neurorehabilitation are multilevel and multidisciplinary with cooperation between professions: physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and neuropsychologists. That is, physical therapy tries to improve the mobility, strength, and coordination of a patient. Occupational therapy seeks to help a patient recover skills or techniques that enable a patient to move about in daily life. Speech therapy is very important for a patient who suffers from communication disorders or swallowing disorders.

All such evidence-based therapies as task-specific training and constraint-induced movement therapy rely on plasticity to make the patient functionally recover. Further, in recent years, application of virtual reality and robotic-assisted therapies has started to be applied to offer the rehabilitation process new options of motor recovery and to engage patients into their rehabilitation process.

There are standard guidelines for neurorehabilitation like patient-centered care. The involvement of the patients and their families in the planning and decision-making process has the effect of empowerment and ownership regarding the recovery process. Education given to the patient on his or her condition and the forms and processes of rehabilitation can help foster adherence to therapy and to a better outcome.

There would be psychological considerations. The patient may be anxious or depressed or frustrated at the time of rehabilitation. Counseling, including mental health support, could form a part of rehabilitation and thus in a restorative care scheme.

Strict adherence to the prevailing protocols may optimize effectiveness of rehabilitation programs, ensure independent functional ability, and maximize quality of life in a neurorehabilitation patient. Lastly, quality care is performed when one maintains professional development as well as keeping oneself informed of the current research and development related to the field.