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Review
. 2022 Jul 26;12(8):982.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci12080982.

After 55 Years of Neurorehabilitation, What Is the Plan?

Hélène Viruega  1   2 , Manuel Gaviria  1   2
Affiliations
Review

After 55 Years of Neurorehabilitation, What Is the Plan?

Hélène Viruega et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Neurological disorders often cause severe long-term disabilities with substantial activity limitations and participation restrictions such as community integration, family functioning, employment, social interaction and participation. Increasing understanding of brain functioning has opened new perspectives for more integrative interventions, boosting the intrinsic central nervous system neuroplastic capabilities in order to achieve efficient behavioral restitution. Neurorehabilitation must take into account the many aspects of the individual through a comprehensive analysis of actual and potential cognitive, behavioral, emotional and physical skills, while increasing awareness and understanding of the new self of the person being dealt with. The exclusive adoption by the rehabilitator of objective functional measures often overlooks the values and goals of the disabled person. Indeed, each individual has their own rhythm, unique life history and personality construct. In this challenging context, it is essential to deepen the assessment through subjective measures, which more adequately reflect the patient's perspective in order to shape genuinely tailored instead of standardized neurorehabilitation approaches. In this overly complex panorama, where confounding and prognostic factors also strongly influence potential functional recovery, the healthcare community needs to rethink neurorehabilitation formats.

Keywords: activity limitations; disability; functional recovery; homeostasis; neurological disorders; neuroplasticity; neurorehabilitation; participation restrictions; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the systematic review. * Experimental work not confirmed in humans; ** Neurorehabilitation propositions difficult to generalize; *** Theoretical knowledge difficult to extrapolate; **** Works with too small sample size; ***** Works with very low quality evidence of improvement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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