The Big Picture
Rehabilitation looks different for every client. Some people need a short period of exercises before recovery. Others need a longer and more difficult rehabilitation process.
Rehabilitation involves teamwork. The client, family, and health care workers work toward the client’s goals, function, independence, and quality of life.
Therapy and training may also help the client learn or practise skills. Some clients learn to use equipment or devices that help with movement, self-care, eating, drinking, or other daily tasks.
Quick tip: Tap, click, or press Enter on any term with a dotted underline and an ⓘ icon to see its plain-English definition.
Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- Rehabilitation may last only a few weeks, or it may become a long process.
- Rehabilitation uses a multidisciplinary team whose members depend on the client’s needs and care setting.
- The client and family are important members of the rehabilitation process.
- Professionals on the rehabilitation team choose the therapy and training needed to meet the client’s goals.
- A support worker may help a client practise skills or tasks and may assist with certain devices.
- Prostheses replace missing body parts, while orthotics support and align parts of the musculoskeletal system.
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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
Rehabilitation May Be Short or Long
The length and difficulty of rehabilitation depend on the client’s situation.
A healthy client with a shoulder injury, for example, might need only a few simple exercises performed regularly for several weeks until recovery is complete.
Rehabilitation is often a long and difficult process.
Rehabilitation Uses a Multidisciplinary Team
Rehabilitation requires a multidisciplinary team. The exact team members depend on:
- the client’s needs
- the setting where rehabilitation takes place
The team usually includes:
- the client
- family members
- physicians
- nurses
- occupational therapists
- physiotherapists
- physiotherapy assistants
- support workers
- other people who help the client regain function and independence
The Team Reviews the Client’s Progress
The rehabilitation team meets often to discuss the client’s progress.
Changes are made to the rehabilitation care plan when needed. The client and family attend these meetings whenever possible.
Family involvement and support remain important throughout rehabilitation.
The Client Is a Key Team Member
The client’s quality of life is central to care and treatment.
The rehabilitation team encourages the client to control as many parts of their care as possible. Being a key member of the team gives the client some control during rehabilitation.
Different Areas of Health Are Connected
Rehabilitation addresses connected areas of health rather than treating each area as completely separate.
These areas include:
- physical health
- intellectual health
- emotional health
- social health
- spiritual health
For example, a client recovering from a stroke may learn self-care skills and how to follow instructions. This progress may improve the client’s self-esteem . Visits from family, friends, and a spiritual advisor may also support the client during rehabilitation.
The Family Has an Important Role
Rehabilitation also involves the client’s family.
Family members may need to learn:
- about the client’s illness, injury, or disability
- how to care for the client
- how to help the client practise new skills
- new skills that help them adjust to changes in family life
Family support and involvement can play an important part in the client’s rehabilitation success.
Families May Need to Learn New Skills
The skills a family needs depend on the client’s situation.
Examples include learning:
- ways to communicate with a spouse who has lost the ability to speak
- how to cope with the behaviour of a teenager who has a mental health disorder
- how to dress a child with physical disabilities
Counselling is provided when needed to help family members cope with changes that affect them.
Families supporting someone with a chronic health problem need constant support from rehabilitation team members. Changes to normal family life can become overwhelming, and family members need to know that team members listen to their concerns.
Who Chooses Therapy and Training?
Professionals on the rehabilitation team choose the therapy and training needed to meet the client’s goals.
The client then learns how to:
- improve a skill
- perform a task
The client practises what was learned independently or with a caregiver or family member.
CCA action: A support worker may be required to help a client practise skills or tasks.
Self-Help Devices and Equipment
Therapy and training may include learning to use self-help devices.
Specific equipment is obtained to meet the client’s needs, and the client is taught how to use it.
Several types of equipment may appear in rehabilitation.
Prostheses
Prostheses is the plural form of prosthesis.
A prosthesis is an artificial replacement for a missing body part.
Examples include replacements for:
- feet
- knees
- lower limbs
- upper limbs
- hands
- breasts
- eyes
The goal is for the prosthesis to resemble the missing body part in both function and appearance.
Artificial limbs may be made from materials such as:
- wood
- aluminum
- plastic
Most artificial limbs use the client’s muscles for movement. These may include muscles in the stump or other nearby muscles.
A physiotherapist works with the client to strengthen these muscles.
The client learns how to use and care for the prosthesis.
CCA action: A support worker might help the client become used to wearing and using a prosthesis. The support worker might also assist with skin care at the prosthesis site.
Orthotics
An orthotic is an apparatus worn to support and align parts of the musculoskeletal system. It also helps prevent or correct problems involving that system.
Examples include:
- splints
- foot supports
- knee braces
- back braces
The client learns how to put on, use, and care for the orthotic.
CCA action: A support worker might help the client put on an orthotic and practise moving or walking.
Eating and Drinking Devices
Some devices help clients with eating and drinking.
Examples include:
- glass holders
- plate guards
- utensils with curved handles
- utensils with cuffs
Self-Care Devices
Self-care equipment may help clients complete personal and everyday tasks.
Examples include:
- electronic toothbrushes
- combs with long handles
- brushes with long handles
- sponges with long handles
Other devices may help with:
- dressing
- cooking
- writing
- making phone calls
- other tasks
Devices That Aid Mobility
Mobility devices include:
- crutches
- canes
- walkers
- braces
- wheelchairs for some clients
When possible, a client who uses a wheelchair learns how to transfer independently to and from the wheelchair.
A transfer board helps a person move from one seat to another.
The client may learn transfers involving:
- the bed
- the toilet
- the bathtub
- sofas and chairs
- cars
Other Equipment
Some clients need feeding tubes or mechanical ventilation.
Some clients using mechanical ventilation are eventually weaned from the ventilator. Others need to adapt to lifelong ventilation.
Common Mix-Ups
| Wrong Idea | Better Idea |
|---|---|
| A prosthesis supports and aligns an existing body part. | A prosthesis replaces a missing body part. |
| An orthotic replaces a missing body part. | An orthotic supports and aligns parts of the musculoskeletal system. |
| The support worker chooses the client’s therapy and training. | Professionals on the rehabilitation team choose the therapy and training. The support worker may help the client practise skills or tasks. |
| Rehabilitation involves only health care professionals. | The client and family are also important members of the rehabilitation team. |
Fast Review
Keep the team roles, family involvement, and equipment groups clear. Those ideas connect most of this Topic.
- Rehabilitation may be short and simple or long and difficult.
- Team members vary according to the client’s needs and rehabilitation setting.
- The rehabilitation team usually includes the client, family, physicians, nurses, therapists, assistants, support workers, and others.
- The team meets often to review progress, and the rehabilitation care plan changes when needed.
- The client and family attend team meetings whenever possible.
- Rehabilitation considers physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual health.
- Professionals on the rehabilitation team choose the therapy and training needed to meet the client’s goals.
- A support worker may help clients practise skills or tasks.
- Prostheses are artificial replacements for missing body parts.
- Orthotics support and align parts of the musculoskeletal system.
- Eating, drinking, self-care, and mobility devices help clients perform different tasks during rehabilitation.
- A transfer board helps a person move from one seat to another.
Final Pep Talk
This Topic has many team members, family roles, and equipment names, so review them in small groups. Focus first on who chooses therapy, what the support worker may help with, and the difference between prostheses and orthotics.