What Is Functional Rehabilitation and Why Does It Matter?

Navigating your world used to feel easy — aside from the usual complaints — but now you’re facing challenges that affect your ability to function normally.

From neurological issues like strokes and traumatic brain injuries to aging and fall risks, many conditions can interfere with your ability to live freely and independently. Additionally, when your vision is impacted, your world can become smaller and more dangerous. 

This is where functional rehabilitation can make a world of difference. At DeyeNAMICS, our experienced and extensive team of neuro-optometrists specializes in helping patients regain their freedom through this type of tailored care.

What is Functional Rehabilitation?

If you struggle to function as you once did, functional rehabilitation can help you regain the ability to perform daily activities. When full recovery isn’t possible, we’ll help you find alternative solutions.

Functional rehabilitation includes:

• Physical therapy to restore movement through strength and agility training
• Occupational therapy to improve performance in tasks of daily living
• Rehabilitation of sensory functions, such as vision (which is where we step in)

This multi-pronged approach helps address your needs from different angles, leading to better overall outcomes.

Functional Rehabilitation Can Help Prevent Falls

Whether you’re recovering from a severe concussion or dealing with the effects of aging, your balance is an important aspect of functional rehabilitation.

Falls are the leading cause of injury in American adults aged 65 and older and affect 14 million seniors each year. The good news is that functional therapy prevents many of these falls. Vision impairment and balance issues due to neurological deficits often lead to falls, and our targeted therapies help with both.

Functional Rehabilitation Can Address Your Unique Needs

We’ve focused generally on functional rehabilitation, but we also tailor therapy to each person’s specific needs.

In a nutshell, we meet you where you are to help you reach your goals. If you’re a young adult with a traumatic brain injury who wants to hit a ball or ride a skateboard again, we’ll help you work toward that. If you’re an older adult hoping to maintain independence, we’ll help you with that goal, too. While we might not be able to restore everything, we’ll help you get as close as possible. 

Finally, keep in mind that trying to handle it on your own without experts who understand how the brain and body work together can waste valuable time and hinder your progress.

To see for yourself how functional rehabilitation can help you improve your quality of life, schedule a visit at one of our offices in Sacramento, Bellflower, or Valencia, California; Guildford, Connecticut; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; or Plano, Texas.