Curious what REAL recovery from a serious injury looks like?
Surely you picture something like this: suffer an injury, attend therapy, recover.
Here’s the problem…
It doesn’t usually work like that.
Physical rehabilitation after injury is a detailed process that takes place over different phases. It requires specially trained practitioners and identifiable markers of progress along the way. Failure to get proper care at any stage of the process can result in lifelong deficits for a patient.
And if negligence is responsible for the injury in the first place, legal assistance is every bit as crucial as medical treatment. A medical malpractice attorney can secure the right to maximum compensation starting on day 1. By partnering with a Virginia personal injury lawyer online early, every stage of rehabilitation (not just the initial hospital bill) is properly considered.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- What Physical Rehabilitation Actually Is
- The Four Phases of Rehabilitation
- The Rehab Process: Who Does What
- How Long Does Recovery REALLY Take?
- When Things Go Wrong With Rehabilitation
- What To Do Next
What Physical Rehabilitation Treats
In short, physical rehabilitation helps patients recover movement, strength, and function after suffering a serious injury.
Remember, this doesn’t refer to just a handful of physical therapy sessions. Rehabilitation covers the gamut from initial pain management/reducing inflammation all the way to regaining muscle strength/re-learning movement patterns/living with permanent injuries. For someone struggling to rebuild their life around a spinal cord injury, brain trauma, or debilitating fracture — it can mean learning how to function normally from SCRATCH.
Physical rehab is not a “nice-to-have” healthcare service. According to the WHO, it’s absolutely critical for anyone suffering an injury that impacts their day-to-day lives.
That’s because over 50 million Americans utilize PT services annually. That makes physical therapy and rehabilitation some of the most common practice areas in the entire medical industry. Not only that — two out of every three patients say it improved their quality of life.
Feel free to be impressed.
The Four Phases of Injury Recovery
Rehabilitation is a progressive process.
Strictly speaking, there are four phases of action that every injury recovery plan must adhere to. While the timelines below are approximate, each phase flows directly into the next.
Phase 1 — Injury and Acute Care
The first phase begins at the moment of injury, frequently while still in the hospital.
During this phase, the medical staff’s number one priority is ensuring the patient survives and stabilises. From there, the focus shifts to pain relief/swelling reduction and beginning gentle rehabilitative motions where possible.
Think of it as a critical window that lays the groundwork for phase 2.
Phase 2 — Sub-Acute Rehab
Past the critical window. Now the real work begins.
Whether that be at a rehab facility or through outpatient PT services, the therapist will begin introducing more rigorous exercises aimed at restoring function. Recovering range of motion, regaining strength, and improving basic coordination takes time. This phase can last a few weeks or a few months depending on the circumstances.
Phase 3 — Functional Recovery
This is where the process starts to get into the practical stuff.
At this point in recovery, patients begin retraining their bodies for the activities they care about most. Whether that be climbing stairs, picking up groceries, sitting at a desk all day, or returning to work. An OT will usually become involved during this phase to help work around any lingering impairments.
Phase 4 — Long-Term Management
To be blunt: some injuries never truly “recover.”
At this stage, patients will continue with whatever exercises they’ve been given on an ongoing basis. They may have regular check-ins with their therapists to track remaining deficits and work towards slowing their progression.
Who’s On the Rehab Team?
Rehabilitation requires a multi-disciplinary approach.
Simply put: patients work with a collection of specialists that cover each facet of recovery. Depending on the type of injury suffered, the exact team may look a little different, but here are the core members to expect:
- Physiatrist — A doctor of physical medicine responsible for overseeing the rehab plan.
- Physical therapist (PT) — As the name suggests, these specialists focus on movement, strength, and mobility.
- Occupational therapist (OT) — Specialists that help patients relearn day-to-day tasks.
- Speech therapist — Usually necessary for patients who have suffered brain trauma/loss of fine motor control.
- Psychologist/Counsellor — Last but not least. Recovery from serious injury is traumatizing. Mental healthcare can make all the difference to long-term wellness.
The medical team should consist of experts from each category. Anything less can (and will) impact the ability to recover from a serious injury.
How Long Does Recovery Take?
Is there such thing as a “typical” recovery time?
Pretty much anything that doesn’t affect the bones takes less than a month to heal. Muscle tears, bruises, and ligament sprains all fall under this category. Straightforward bone fractures have an average recovery time of 6-8 weeks. But a patient is not truly “recovered” until rehabilitation is complete.
Again, this depends on the extent of the injury. Rehabilitation from mild trauma can be a matter of weeks. Recovering from a spinal cord injury or brain trauma can take upwards of 18 months.
Bear this in mind: most recovery occurs in the first 3-6 months.
Rehab Gone Wrong
Traumatic injury and improper care are not always synonymous.
Yes, there are countless stories of the healthcare system failing its patients. But there are just as many incidences where the victim is at fault. So how can the difference be identified? If during rehabilitation any of the following occurred…
- Progress stopped for an extended period of time.
- The injury grew WORSE after beginning rehab.
- No referral to other specialists was made despite an obvious need.
- Discharge from PT happened too early.
…it might be time to seek a second opinion.
More specifically, a legal second opinion. A seasoned medical malpractice attorney can scan through medical records to control whether negligence played a role in rehabilitation outcomes.
Here’s the kicker…
Patients are responsible for paying for all of their medical treatment. Attorneys don’t require upfront payment just to take a case. So if rehabilitation appears to have been mismanaged, reaching out to learn what can be done to recover those costs is worth doing today.
Conclusion
Physical therapy and rehabilitation after a thoughtful injury is no walk in the park.
It takes hard work from the entire medical team. And most importantly, it takes time. The process is divided into four phases which must be allowed to run their course. Neglecting the body at any stage of this process can lead to lifelong injuries.
Recovery can feel incredibly complex. Breaking it down in plain language helps patients approach the process from a foundation of knowledge — medically, practically, and legally. Because when injuries are caused by negligence, knowing how recovery should look is half the battle.