Rehabilitation medicine includes efforts to improve function and minimize impairment related to activities that may have been hampered by illnesses or injuries. Disabling conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and cerebral palsy, as well as musculoskeletal issues and pain, may require various levels of rehabilitation medicine.
The goal of rehabilitation medicine is twofold:
- To maximize function, participation, independence, and quality of life for a person with a disabling condition and
- To maintain and prevent any further decline in a person’s functioning.
NICHD supports rehabilitation medicine research focused on improving outcomes for people with chronic physical disabilities, including studies of causes of disability, mechanisms of injury and repair, treatments to minimize impairment, and tools to improve function. NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research provides a focal point for coordinating research related to rehabilitation medicine across the NIH.
General Information
Rehabilitation medicine describes efforts to improve function and minimize impairment related to activities that have been hampered by disease, injuries, or developmental disorders.
A person may need care related to rehabilitation medicine because of loss of mobility or function due to trauma, diseases, conditions, or other reasons.
Rehabilitation medicine uses many kinds of assistance, therapies, and devices. The activity depends on the condition causing impairment, its severity, and what part of the body is affected.
NICHD supports rehabilitation medicine research to help people achieve their full potential, and to ensure the health, productivity, independence, and well-being of all people.
Research
NICHD conducts and supports research on rehabilitation medicine and on many disorders associated with it.
Find a Study
NICHD conducts and supports a variety of clinical research projects related to rehabilitation medicine.
More Information
Find answers to other common questions about rehabilitation medicine, such as how to find a specialist and how the body’s plasticity is related to rehabilitation.
Links to websites of groups that study or provide information about rehabilitation medicine.
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