Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Infirmary Health’s rehabilitation services department provides inpatient and outpatient services to help patients recovering from various illnesses and diseases.

What Is Rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation is that branch of medicine dedicated to restoring patients’ bodily functions and to improving their quality of life as much as possible after suffering from a serious illness or injury. Rehabilitation is used to help those who have lost a bodily function due to disease.

Some diseases and disorders that can cause the loss of a bodily function include:

Stroke
Developmental defects
Medical treatment side effects
Severe infection
Severe surgeries
Chronic pain
Serious infection
Brain or spinal cord injuries

Although most of the diseases and disorders that cause the need for rehabilitation are physical, rehabilitation is also focused on regaining cognitive, emotional, and psychological functions. The goal is to ensure that the patient achieves the highest level of functionality possible.

What to expect from a rehabilitation program

A comprehensive rehabilitation program will tailor its services to the needs of each patient, taking into account medical history, current health, and the goals of the patient. After evaluation of the patient, the rehabilitation team lead by specialist physicians, will formulate an individualized treatment plan. Since the goal of rehabilitation is to turn back a disability, the regimen created can vary widely depending upon the bodily function or organ that has been affected.

However, three types of rehabilitation programs are frequently used by individuals to strengthen certain core bodily functions:

Rehabilitation programs can also be inpatient or outpatient programs. Inpatient programs are ones conducted while the patient is still hospitalized while outpatient programs continue even when the patient is discharged.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation refers to a course of treatment and therapy designed to strengthen the cardiac system and heart. Such a treatment method is usually undergone after a heart attack or other cardiac episode. The rehabilitation program can include counseling, education, and a regimen of training and exercise to slowly strengthen the cardiac muscles.

Vascular Rehabilitation

Vascular rehabilitation is a course of treatment and therapy designed to increase the vascular system’s ability to deliver blood and oxygen to other parts of the body, especially the legs. Such a form of treatment is usually entered into after an arterial disease or stroke causes decreased blood flow to the extremities.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary rehabilitation refers to a course of treatment and therapy designed to improve the function and health of the lungs and respiratory system. Usually conducted as a person is recovering from lung disease or other respiratory disorder, pulmonary rehabilitation can be very helpful in aiding patients to breathe more easily again.