Baylor Scott & White Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation - Waco

Concussion/Traumatic Brain injury rehabilitation

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden injury causes damage to the brain.

A "closed head injury" may cause brain damage if something hits your head hard but doesn’t break through your skull.

A "penetrating head injury" occurs when an object breaks through your skull and enters your brain.

If you have had a traumatic brain injury, rehabilitation will be an important part of your recovery. Neurology rehabilitation can take many forms depending on your needs, and might include physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as psychiatric care and social support. All of these are designed to help you recover from the effects of your injury as much as possible.

Traumatic brain injury rehab may help:

• Improve your ability to function at home and in your community
• Help treat the mental and physical problems caused by TBI
• Provide social and emotional support
• Help you adapt to changes as they occur during your recovery

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy at Baylor Scott & White Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation assists you or your loved one in managing the challenges of everyday life.

Our licensed occupational therapists in Waco use occupation-based, patient-centered treatments to develop, recover or maintain your activities of daily living and work-related skills.

Occupational therapists are also equipped to screen patients who are seizure-free licensed drivers to assure they are ready to safely return to driving.

A variety of tools are available that enable individuals to complete daily tasks despite an injury or disability. Adaptive equipment can be utilized to help compensate for an individual’s physical changes or functional loss, or simply make tasks safer and more comfortable.

While various types of adaptive equipment may be purchased through a variety of businesses, patients needing such equipment should have a thorough assessment by an occupational therapist to ensure that the right equipment is selected and properly installed, and that patients are properly trained before using the equipment.

Occupational therapy services are designed to help you:

• Participate more fully in work, family and social settings
• Recover from injury or disability
• Develop or regain skills

Parkinson’s disease therapy

Physical therapy for Parkinson’s disease treatment here in Waco can help increase mobility, strength and balance, as well as help with living independently.

Specialized therapy is a way to retrain muscles and slow the progression of hypokinesia, which is the increasingly smaller, more shuffling movements that typically happen with Parkinson’s disease.

These therapies offered at Baylor Scott & White Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation – Waco may focus on reciprocal movements, balance work, gait training, stretching and flexibility, as well as strength training.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy at Baylor Scott & White Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation – Waco assists patients in returning to a more active lifestyle after neurologic injuries, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Our licensed physical therapists here in Waco specialize in patient-centered, individualized therapies designed to:

• Increase strength, endurance, coordination and range of motion
• Eliminate or reduce pain
• Improve quality of life

Speech therapy

Speech therapists, also called speech-language pathologists, assess, diagnose and treat disorders related to speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing and fluency.

The speech therapists here at Baylor Scott & White Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation – Waco also teach individuals how to strengthen muscles or use compensatory strategies to swallow without choking or inhaling food or liquid.

We never underestimate the value of family involvement. We encourage input from patient and family in goal setting.

Our local speech therapists educate caregivers on communication disorders and swallowing issues and how to cope with the stress and misunderstanding that often accompany them. We help caregivers identify and change behavior patterns that impede communication and treatment while demonstrating techniques to use at home.

For individuals with little or no speech capability, the therapist may select alternative communication methods, including automated devices.

Spinal cord injury rehabilitation

A spinal cord injury occurs when physical damage to the spinal cord interferes with normal motor, sensory or autonomic function.

Spinal cord injury rehabilitation may help:

• Improve walking
• Reduce risks of falling
• Improve independence with activities of daily living
• Return to more functional day-to-day life
• Improve wheelchair management skills

Stroke therapy

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted by the rupturing or clotting of blood vessels. This lack of blood flow damages the brain and function associated with that area of the brain.

Stroke rehab here at Baylor Scott & White Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation – Waco may help:

• Improve walking
• Reduce risks of falling
• Improve independence with activities of daily living

Vestibular/dizziness rehabilitation

Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is a specialized form of therapy intended to alleviate symptoms caused by vestibular disorders.

It is an exercise-based program primarily designed to reduce vertigo and dizziness, visual disturbance and/or imbalance and falls.