At Inspire Neurocare, our highly experienced teams provide life-changing spinal cord injury rehabilitation services for adults.
Every injury is different, and so people have different goals. Inspire Neurocare's spinal cord injury rehabilitation centre take an interdisciplinary approach to ensure that rehab is developed around the individual.
For people who have experienced spinal injuries, there is often a significant adjustment to the life-changing impact of becoming a wheelchair user. Many people live with pain and fatigue and may experience other physical complications such as:
The aim of the rehabilitation process is to help people achieve the highest level of independence and quality of life possible, by improving or restoring their abilities and supporting them to compensate for functional disabilities.
For some people, spinal cord injury treatment is not only focused on physical recovery but also encompasses support from neuropsychologists and psychiatrists to come to terms with a different way of life.
Following the acute care and initial treatment, and often a stay in an intensive care unit, people with spinal injuries undergo intensive rehab in a specialist spinal injury facility, such as the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Oswestry.
It is after this point in the rehabilitation journey that individuals can access spinal injury rehabilitation at Inspire Neurocare.
At Inspire Neurocare, our team of Life Skills Facilitators collaborate with a multidisciplinary therapeutic team and skilled nurses. The rehabilitation team offer an array of services, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, cognitive support, psychological assistance, and management of medication.
All treatments are personalised to meet the unique requirements of each individual, with the primary aim of enabling them to recover the maximum possible level of independence.
Our specialist rehabilitation nurses deliver expert, compassionate care for individuals undergoing spinal rehabilitation, bringing a depth of knowledge and experience to manage the complex needs and secondary complications of individuals who have sustained a spinal cord injury.
They work as part of a multi disciplinary team team and their range from managing physical health needs and injuries including skin integrity and pressure care (sores and pressure ulcers), blood pressure and bladder and bowel function, to administering medications and pain management strategies. They are skilled in managing the respiratory function requirements that may occur in higher level injuries.
Each service at Inspire Neurocare is guided by a rehabilitation physician with in-depth knowledge and experience in neurorehabilitation. Their role is pivotal in directing the rehabilitation team and supervising personalised care plans for each patient.
At Inspire Neurocare's spinal services, our Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine leads the interdisciplinary team.
Our physiotherapy teams work with individuals to restore as much mobility as possible following injury to the spinal cord. Physiotherapy treatments include exercises designed to:
Physical therapy supports people with spinal injuries in transferring in and out of a wheelchair and assists in gait training using parallel bars, crucial aspects of regaining independence and functionality.
The occupational therapist aims to increase people's independence in activities of daily living, ensuring people with spinal cord injuries can function in their environment with adaptations where required.
As the patient's condition improves, occupational therapy functional activities might include:
If the spinal cord injury is high in the cervical spine (neck), it may affect the nerves that control breathing and speech.
People with a cervical spinal cord injury may benefit from speech and language therapy to assist with breathing exercises, speech, and swallowing.
At Inspire Neurocare, our neuropsychologists provide key psychological support for individuals on a recovery journey. They aid in managing emotional distress and behavioural changes, including anxiety, depression, and disturbances often resulting injuries to the brain and spine.
Using therapeutic interventions, emotional support, coping strategies, and cognitive rehabilitation techniques, they help improve individuals' psychological well-being, self esteem and resilience.
Contact the Inspire Neurocare team for more information on SCI rehabilitation and respite care or access information on our Admissions and Referral process. Every Inspire Neurocare service is full accessible for wheelchair users.
The Spinal Injuries Association is a valuable UK-wide resource for patients and families.
Inspire Neurocare's residential spinal injuries unit offers a specialised environment for around-the-clock care and rehabilitation for individuals who have suffered complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries. It comprises a dedicated team of carers, doctors, nurses and therapists.
Rehabilitation outcomes are generally linked to individual goals, the severity of the injury, and the person's overall health. Spinal cord injured patients may see improvements in physical mobility and independence to enhanced emotional well-being.
At Inspire Neurocare, these outcomes, which make up the rehabilitation programme, are continuously measured against established goals.
Spinal cord injury rehabilitation can vary significantly in length, depending on several factors including the severity of the injury, the individual's overall health, and their specific recovery goals. Rehabilitation is often a long-term process, requiring several months to years of multidisciplinary intervention. Some people with spinal cord injuries may make significant progress in a few months, while others may require intensive rehabilitation over several years.
At Inspire Neurocare, our team works closely with patients, their families, and referral sources to provide personalised estimates of rehabilitation length based on individual assessments, which are continually reviewed and adjusted as needed.
It's important to note that every individual's recovery journey from spinal cord injury is unique, and the timeline for rehabilitation can differ greatly from person to person.
Inspire supports family members throughout the recovery process. Recovery from spinal cord injuries can be complex and in the early stages, secondary conditions can cause complications and different symptoms may be experienced. Our Wellbeing and Lifestyle Coach ensures loved ones are kept informed about progress, recovery, and discharge planning.
The referral process usually begins with a referral from a doctor or funding body, usually while the individual is in the hospital or spinal cord injury unit. The Inspire team visits to assess the individual, creating a report detailing the rehabilitation pathway and care we can provide.
From this point, the referrer and family will review the assessment report, and if it is decided that Inspire Neurocare is the right place for rehabilitation, the team will work with all those concerned to begin the admission process.