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Rehabilitation for spinal cord injury Cairns

Spinal cord injury

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Rehabilitation and therapy that’s tailored to you.

Living with or recovering from a spinal cord injury can look different for everyone. The effects vary depending on the type and location of the injury, the severity, and each person’s life stage and individual circumstances.

At Royal Rehab LifeWorks, we take a collaborative and personalised approach. Our expert team works with you to understand your unique needs, develop a tailored plan, and provide the right support to help you manage symptoms or focus on recovery. We offer access to advanced rehabilitation technologies—many of which have never before been seen in the region—giving you the best possible tools to support your journey.

Rehabilitation and therapy targets

  • Mobility and balance: Enhance ability to stand, walk, and manage the risk of falling.
  • Muscle strength: Build and maintain strength to support overall physical function.
  • Fatigue: Implement strategies to improve energy levels and endurance.
  • Arm and hand use: Increase use and strength of upper limbs.
  • Swallowing difficulties: Reduce the risk of choking and ensure safe, enjoyable eating and drinking.
  • Speech and communication: Develop clearer and more effective communication skills.
  • Cognitive function: Enhance memory and problem-solving abilities.
  • Mental wellbeing: Support psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing.
  • Independence: Enhance independence through home modifications, adaptive equipment, and assistive technologies.

Your program may include

Neurological physiotherapy
By focusing on neuroplasticity, movement, strength, and everyday function, our physiotherapists support recovery with targeted techniques.
  • Task-specific training: Practising real-life movements to retrain the brain, helping with walking, siting, standing, and moving independently.
  • Building strength: Tailored exercises strengthen weakened muscles, improving stability and preventing further strength loss.
  • Enhancing balance and coordination: Specialised exercises improve balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls and improving ability to engage in functional tasks.
  • Improving arm and hand function: Strengthening and coordination exercises help restore movement and dexterity in affected limbs.
  • Managing muscle stiffness: Stretching and positioning techniques help reduce tightness and improve comfort.
  • Reducing pain: Physiotherapy helps alleviate joint and muscle pain caused by imbalances or improper movement.
  • Preventing complications: Regular movement and therapy help reduce the risk of issues like pressure sores, contractures, and blood clots.
  • Boosting confidence and wellbeing: Achieving progress through physiotherapy can enhance self-esteem and overall quality of life.
Occupational therapy
By focusing on practical skills and adaptive strategies, occupational therapists empower you to navigate daily challenges more effectively.
  • Enhancing independence: Learn new techniques to perform everyday activities such as dressing, cooking, and bathing with greater ease.
  • Improving arm and hand function: Strengthening and coordination exercises help restore movement and dexterity in affected limbs.
  • Enhancing vision and perception: Techniques and adaptive strategies can help manage visual impairments and spatial awareness challenges.
  • Adapting to your environments: Therapists provide recommendations for home modifications, such as grab bars or adaptive equipment, to improve safety and accessibility.
  • Conserving energy and managing fatigue: Learn strategies to pace activities, conserve energy, and prevent overexertion.
  • Returning to work and community activities: Tailored strategies help individuals regain skills needed for work, hobbies, and social engagement.
Speech pathology
Neurological conditions can affect the ability to speak, understand language, and even swallow. Speech therapy plays a vital role in helping individuals regain these essential skills, improving both independence and quality of life.
  • Improving communication skills: Help express thoughts more clearly, understand spoken language, and engage in meaningful conversations. This may involve exercises to improve word retrieval, sentence structure, pronunciation, and overall clarity.
  • Managing aphasia: Aphasia affects the ability to speak, read, write, or understand language. Speech therapy provides structured exercises to strengthen these skills, helping individuals communicate more effectively.
  • Dysphagia treatment (swallowing support): Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) is common after a stroke and can lead to choking or aspiration pneumonia. Speech therapists assess swallowing function and provide targeted exercises to strengthen throat and mouth muscles, making eating and drinking safer and more comfortable.
  • Learning alternative communication strategies: If verbal speech remains difficult, therapists introduce alternative methods such as picture boards, gestures, or assistive communication devices to help individuals express themselves in new ways.
  • Cognitive rehabilitation: Communication is closely linked to cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and problem-solving. Speech therapy can incorporate cognitive exercises to help individuals improve thinking and language skills, supporting everyday interactions.
  • Enhancing emotional wellbeing and confidence: Losing the ability to communicate can be frustrating and isolating. Speech therapy not only restores language skills but also helps rebuild confidence, reducing feelings of frustration and improving social engagement.
Exercise physiology
Using tailored, evidence-based movement programs, our exercise physiologists focus on rebuilding strength, restoring function, and improving overall health and wellbeing.
  • Enhancing physical function: Structured exercise helps regain mobility, endurance, and independence in daily activities.
  • Improving cardiovascular health: Aerobic exercise supports heart and lung function.
  • Building strength and endurance: Targeted resistance training combats muscle weakness and fatigue.
  • Enhancing balance and coordination: Exercises are designed to improve stability, reducing falls and promoting safer movement.
  • Supporting neuroplasticity: Repetitive, meaningful movement patterns help the brain rewire and adapt.
  • Managing fatigue: Graded exercise programs are designed to improve energy levels and reduce fatigue.
  • Addressing chronic conditions: Programs consider co-existing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity.
  • Encouraging long-term self-management: Education and home-based exercise plans empower individuals to maintain their progress.
  • Boosting mood and motivation: Physical activity supports mental health, confidence, and a sense of control over recovery.
Psychology
Our psychologists support you in navigating emotional, cognitive, and behavioural changes, helping to build resilience, independence, and a positive outlook during recovery.
  • Adjusting to life after your illness, injury or diagnosis: Therapy helps individuals process the emotional impact of their condition and adapt to new realities.
  • Managing mood changes: Psychological support addresses common issues like depression, anxiety, frustration, and grief.
  • Improving cognitive function: Strategies are provided to support attention, memory, problem-solving, and executive functioning.
  • Enhancing coping skills: Therapy builds resilience and equips individuals with tools to manage stress and setbacks.
  • Supporting identity and self-esteem: Psychologists help rebuild a sense of self and confidence.
  • Promoting behaviour change: Support with motivation, goal setting, and habit formation assists with rehabilitation and health goals.
  • Supporting relationships: Therapy can address the impact of injury or illness on communication, family dynamics, and social connections.
  • Assisting with fatigue and sleep: Psychological strategies help manage sleep difficulties.
  • Empowering carers and families: Education and emotional support extend to loved ones to promote a holistic approach to care.
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NDIS Funding
NIISQ funding
Medicare funding
MyAgedCare funding
Health insurance

Meet the team

There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone realise they’re capable of more than they thought possible.

Jason
Senior Physiotherapist
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Our locations

New South Wales

Ryde Petersham Collaroy Penrith Ryde-Eastwood Dubbo

Queensland

Cairns Townsville Brisbane Atherton

Victoria

Melbourne
Contact us
1800 966 212
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Royal Rehab acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future and we extend our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples.

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