Management of Neurorehabilitation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Neurorehabilitation originates from the concept of neuroplasticity and it has an important role -both physical and cognitive- in the restoration of a damaged nervous system. Interruption in neurorehabilitation negatively affects a patient’s prognosis. Unfortunately, after the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic, there were some disruptions in neurorehabilitation practices. Therefore, according to the principles of infection prevention and protection, the issue of developing new neurorehabilitation management strategies was raised. Providing appropriate physical distancing in shared rehabilitation areas and strict training of the rehabilitation team with regard to hygiene rules are important issues in terms of preventing contamination. In new treatment schemes, options such as discharging patients from hospital at the earliest possible time, home-based treatments and telerehabilitation have become standard. Online patient-physician consultation can provide the continuity of neurorehabilitation and reduce anxiety and the feeling of social isolation felt by many patients and their families. In addition, the pandemic period can be turned into an opportunity for caregivers to learn physical and cognitive exercises and apply them to their patients. The current article focuses on the new neurorehabilitation approaches in the neurological diseases sample which includes stroke, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and neuromuscular diseases within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• neurorehabilitation
• home-based treatment
• telerehabilitation

COVID-19 Pandemisi Sürecinde Nörorehabilitasyonun Yönetimi

Abstract

Nörorehabilitasyon nöroplastisite kavramından köken alır ve hasarlanmış sinir sisteminin restorasyonunda hem fiziksel hem de bilişsel açıdan önemli bir role sahiptir. Nörorehabilitasyonda kesinti yaşanması hastanın prognozunu negatif yönde etkiler. Ne yazık ki, Dünya Sağlık Örgütü’nün koronavirüs hastalığı 2019 (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19)’u pandemi olarak ilan etmesinden sonra, nörorehabilitasyon uygulamalarında aksamalar olmuştur. Bu nedenle, enfeksiyon önleme ve koruma kurallarına göre yeni nörorehabilitasyon stratejileri geliştirme konusu gündeme gelmiştir. Ortak rehabilitasyon alanlarında uygun fiziksel mesafenin sağlanması ve rehabilitasyon ekibinin hijyen kuralları açısından sıkı eğitimi, bulaşmayı önleme açısından önemli konulardır. Yeni tedavi şemalarında, hastaların mümkün olan en kısa zamanda hastaneden taburcu edilmesi, evde yapılan tedaviler ve telerehabilitasyon gibi seçenekler ön plana çıkmaktadır. Çevrimiçi hasta-uzman görüşmesi, nörorehabilitasyonun devamlılığını sağlayacağı gibi hasta ve yakınlarının, anksiyetesini ve sosyal izolasyon duygusunu azaltabilir. Ayrıca pandemi dönemi, bakım verenlerin, fiziksel ve bilişsel egzersizleri öğrenerek hastalarına uygulamaları açısından bir fırsata da dönüştürülebilir. Bu makalede, COVID-19 pandemisi bağlamında; inme, multipl skleroz, demans, Parkinson hastalığı ve nöromusküler hastalıkları içeren nörolojik hastalıklar örnekleminde, yeni nörorehabilitasyon yaklaşımlarına odaklanılmıştır.

Keywords

• COVID-19,
• nörorehabilitasyon
• evde tedavi
• telerehabilitasyon

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