Rehabilitation – also known as rehab or therapy – is a program of exercises and activities you can go through to help you in a lot of different ways, including:
- Building up your physical abilities (like strength, speed, and stamina)
- Supporting the way you think, remember, and act (your cognitive abilities)
It’s normally used by people who have experienced an injury, an illness, or something else that has impacted their wellbeing. Rehabilitation is run by trained professionals who make a program specifically for you.
The ultimate goal of rehabilitation is to help you feel as good as possible and be as independent as possible as you grow up. Depending on needs, rehabilitation can last a few months to a few years. Some people continue it for the rest of their lives.
When you are initially diagnosed with a brain injury, your doctors will probably make a referral for rehabilitation (this is often required). Where you live and the services available to you may impact the kind of rehabilitation you can access – although there are more and more virtual options that are certainly worth exploring if you are looking for a specific type of rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation programs will not be easy. They’re designed to help you to work through challenges and towards goals. It’s going to be a lengthy process, so it’s important to understand:
- How rehabilitation works
- What options are available to you
- How different forms of rehabilitation are used to support individuals with brain injury
Let’s talk about:
How long will I be doing rehabilitation?
There is no set-in-stone timeline for brain injury rehabilitation. So unfortunately, we can’t tell you how long you’ll be doing it. This will be figured out by your health care team. But we can tell you about some factors that may impact the length of time you’re in rehabilitation. These can include:
- The regularity of your rehabilitation program
- Your willingness and dedication to completing the rehabilitation activities
- The severity of the brain injury
- Physical capabilities – these can be impacted if you sustained physical injuries to other parts of your body
- Access to services
- Your emotional state
- How soon rehabilitation starts after a brain injury. Some studies have shown that people with less severe injuries can start rehabilitation sooner. Rehabilitation will start when your doctor or a specialist have confirmed it’s safe to begin
Depending on your specific needs, you could be in rehabilitation for a few months to a few years. Some people continue a form of rehabilitation for the remainder of their lives.
Getting help with brain injury rehabilitation
You may also depend on someone to help you with your rehabilitation, particularly if you have exercises/activities to do at home outside of your appointments. This could be your parent/guardian(s), siblings, or someone else involved in your care. If that’s the case, make sure to talk to the people running your rehabilitation and figure out what assistance you need.
How do I keep track of my rehabilitation?
While professionals keep records of appointments and outcomes, you should look into keeping your own (or have a family member do it). This can be done manually in a notebook or on a smart device – there are a lot of apps designed to help people track activities, like Notes. You want to make sure that schedules, sessions, and progress are recorded and accessible to you, family members (when appropriate), and your health care team.
Tracking your rehabilitation can have a lot of benefits.
- It can help you track your progress towards goals
- It can provide information to other rehabilitation specialists if they’re new to your team
- It can help you remember important information
A great way to support rehabilitation tracking is to advocate for continuity of care. Working with the same health care professionals (doctors, therapists, etc.) helps you not only become more comfortable, but builds a network of relationships with which you can depend on You and your family will have more predictability (which means less stress), a solid schedule, and overall better outcomes because you are working with the same people who know you and what you need.
Different ways to access rehabilitation
Rehabilitation programs may fit into different types: inpatient, outpatient, community, and virtual. You may engage in rehabilitation in a variety of ways, so here is a quick introduction to each. Any questions should be directed to your health care team.
If you have complex medical needs, require intensive rehabilitation, and can’t have these needs met at home, your doctor may recommend inpatient rehabilitation. This means you’d stay in a hospital or a rehabilitation centre full-time. This could be for a period of a few weeks to a few months depending on your needs.
Inpatient rehabilitation centres are often run through hospitals. There are also private rehabilitation centres not associated with specific medical centres. We talk more about private vs. public rehabilitation later on this page.
While you’re in inpatient rehabilitation, all of your basic needs are being taken care of by the rehabilitation centre staff. You and your family can make the process as smooth as possible by asking questions like the following:
- How long will I be staying, and how do you determine that?
- What are the safety features of rooms/safety procedures of the centre?
- When can my family visit?
- Are they able to sleep in the room with me?
- Can we bring things in to decorate the room/make it feel more like home?
- What is the bathing schedule?
- Do you accommodate diets and food preferences?
- Can we bring in outside food?
- What is the nighttime work schedule?
- Can I meet the staff on both shifts?
- What will I be doing when not in rehabilitation therapy sessions?
- Will there be entertainment, socialization, etc.?
- Are home visits allowed during inpatient stays?
- Are there any post-discharge services?
Inpatient rehabilitation allows you to get the professional help you need in a safe, comfortable environment while reducing the stress associated with getting to and scheduling appointments. If you have questions about inpatient rehabilitation, ask the doctor making the referrals/recommendations.
If you’re ready to live at home and have the ability to safely leave the house to attend appointments, it’s more likely that you’ll participate in outpatient rehabilitation. This means you visit rehabilitation centres or therapists’ offices for appointments.
Your therapists will complete your appointment with you and may give you exercises/activities to do at home until your next appointment. A big part of successful rehabilitation is repetition and consistency. This means you may have exercises and activities to complete at home as well.
Outpatient rehabilitation can also be long-term depending on your needs.
Community rehabilitation (sometimes known as home-based) means that you have therapists and specialists come to you at your house. This might not be available depending on where you live, so you’ll have to ask questions about what you can access.
Virtual rehabilitation is when rehabilitation is offered through a virtual platform on your computer, tablet, or phone. Virtual rehabilitation has a lot of benefits. For example, if you are not able to easily leave your home, you can do rehabilitation in your own space. You’re also not as restricted to services available in your geographical area and you can still access essential rehabilitation services when in-person appointments are not possible.
Virtual rehabilitation and virtual care is a developing sector of medicine, so not all rehabilitation services are available virtually. This form of rehabilitation may not be as effective for you if you are not able to look at screens for long periods of time, require specialized equipment, or need a therapist to physically help with rehabilitation exercises.
If virtual rehabilitation is something you’re interested in, ask some questions about what’s available, how it would work, and what supports you would need to explore this option.
Public vs. private rehabilitation services
Rehabilitation is available at a few different price points through public and private facilities. Public rehabilitation is funded by the government. It’s more affordable, but public rehabilitation programs and centres generally have longer waitlists due to limited availability.
Not every therapy is available through government funding. Physiotherapy is widely available, and in many provinces/territories occupational therapy is covered in part by the government and by insurance. Other, more specific or experimental therapies are not covered.
Private rehabilitation services are ones paid for out of pocket and are not subsidized by the government. This means your family or your family’s private insurance would have to pay the full cost. This is a more expensive option. Private rehabilitation services have shorter waitlists and there may be a greater variety in available therapies (depending on where you live).
There are both public and private outpatient rehabilitation services in Canada, but not for every therapy.
Coverage for public rehabilitation
Different types of rehabilitation may or may not be covered in your province/territory. To be sure, you can check the health care plan for your area.
- Alberta health plan
- British Columbia health plan
- Manitoba health plan
- New Brunswick health plan
- Newfoundland and Labrador health plan
- Northwest Territories health plan
- Nova Scotia health plan
- Nunavut health plan
- Ontario health plan
- Prince Edward Island health plan
- Quebec health plan
- Saskatchewan health plan
- Yukon health plan
Questions to ask about brain injury rehabilitation
While you will get referrals from the doctors you’re working with, you should still ask your own questions to make sure you get all the available information from the rehabilitation specialists directly. Some questions you can ask include:
- How long has the rehabilitation program been operational?
- What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
- How flexible is the program?
- Am I able to do both inpatient and outpatient therapy?
- Are there any services not provided?
- Will I have access to the doctors’ contact information?
- Can I meet each member of my rehabilitation team?
- Are my family members able to attend therapy sessions?
- What are the safety features of the centre?
- How often are neuropsychological tests performed to monitor progress?
- Is there a way to give feedback on the program, people, and my experience?
- Who can I talk to if I need to make changes or have concerns?
- Does the centre specialize in acquired brain injury rehabilitation, or have it as a specialized service?
- What is the daily/weekly rehabilitation schedule going to look like?
- Are counselling services available?
- Is there information about returning home with a brain injury?
- Do you have accessible parking?
- Do you have a waiting area for people accompanying me to appointments?
- Are there special clothes I will need for my appointments?
- Will accommodations be made to observe religion?
Here's a tip
Use a notebook to write down answers to all your questions. This will help you keep track and share information later on.
Some of these questions might not be ones that you want to ask because they’re not relevant to you. That’s okay! The point of asking questions is to find out the information that will make you feel as comfortable with the process as possible.
Disclaimer: There is no shortage of web-based online medical diagnostic tools, self-help or support groups, or sites that make unsubstantiated claims around diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Please note these sources may not be evidence-based, regulated or moderated properly and it is encouraged individuals seek advice and recommendations regarding diagnosis, treatment and symptom management from a regulated healthcare professional such as a physician or nurse practitioner. Individuals should be cautioned about sites that make any of the following statements or claims that:
- The product or service promises a quick fix
- Sound too good to be true
- Are dramatic or sweeping and are not supported by reputable medical and scientific organizations.
- Use of terminology such as “research is currently underway” or “preliminary research results” which indicate there is no current research.
- The results or recommendations of product or treatment are based on a single or small number of case studies and has not been peer-reviewed by external experts
- Use of testimonials from celebrities or previous clients/patients that are anecdotal and not evidence-based
Always proceed with caution and with the advice of your medical team.
