Following hospitalization, patients are typically transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation unit for a moderate or severe TBI or discharged to the care of their r treating neurologist in mild TBI’s.
Moderately to severely injured TBI patients may also be referred for inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation following their hospitalization. This usually involves individually tailored treatment programs characterized by a treatment team that is usually headed by a physical rehabilitation physician and a case manager. The overall principle of neuro rehab is to incorporate compensation strategies into the lives of the TBI patients at the same time as they are trying to improve and recover their functions.
The rehabilitation team usually consists of treatment in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy, hearing evaluation and treatment, speech/language therapy, physical medicine, psychology and social support. Some programs offer neurobehavioral services to address anxiety, depression, anger management and other issues caused by TBI’s.
Once a patient has been discharged from inpatient neurological rehabilitation, they may be referred for community integrated rehabilitation (CIR) or post-acute brain injury rehabilitation. This is especially true in mild traumatic brain injuries.