Introduction to neurological rehabilitation

Despite the significant advances in the last few decades in the drug and surgical treatment of many neurological disorders, cure remains elusive in the majority of cases.

Even after the successful treatment of the underlying disease, most patients continue to have residual motor, sensory and cognitive impairments and severe chronic disability.

The disability in these cases is usually complex and is often relentlessly progressive.

Rehabilitation is the mainstay of management of long-term neurological disability. There have been significant advances in neurological rehabilitation in recent years due to the improvement in understanding the mechanisms of recovery from brain trauma, stroke and other acute neurological disorders.

This resulted in new therapeutic interventions that reverse or reduce the impairments or compensate for lost functional abilities.

The use of botulinum toxin in the treatment of muscle spasticity, the application of robotic devices to assist patients with paraplegia to walk and virtual reality-based therapy interventions are few examples.

In addition, the recognition of the importance of the interaction between the person's health condition, his environmental context and his personal characteristics has led to the development of holistic rehabilitation strategies. This book aims to provide an up-to-date, concise and yet comprehensive text that covers the theoretical and clinical aspects of neurological rehabilitation.

It summarises the clinical management of the common disabling neurological disorders and, at the same time, describes the theoretical rationale for the various rehabilitation interventions and medical treatments.

The methods of assessment and management of the common impairments, activity limitation and restriction to social participation are described, including the use of assistive technology.

The book also reviews the main medico-legal issues that rehabilitation teams encounter in their routine clinical practice.