About the Program/Why this Program?

Orlando Health provides comprehensive rehabilitation services to patients in the Central Florida community and beyond. Specifically, the Outpatient Rehabilitation program is a leader in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation in Central Florida. Other specialties include sports medicine rehabilitation (adolescent and adult), balance and vestibular rehabilitation and more.

Through repeated discussions between the outpatient rehab concussion team and Sport Medicine physicians, the Orlando Health Concussion Recovery Program was developed. The program offers a multi-disciplinary approach to help manage concussion symptoms. The team is comprised of physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and neuropsychologists.

The Orlando Health Concussion Recovery Program has been modeled by leading programs across the country and includes the following:

• Early intervention – per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), early intervention is beneficial when diagnosing and treating a concussion. This can help in preventing further complications and addressing all impairments throughout the recovery process.
• Multi-disciplinary team – per University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), an athlete can experience changes within six domains after a concussion. These include cognitive/fatigue, vestibular, ocular, post traumatic migraine, cervical, and anxiety/mood. A multi-disciplinary team allows us to address any changes post-concussion and to ensure a full return to play, school and/or work. This approach also ensures a gradual return to play/school monitored by skilled clinicians.
• Prevention of further Injury – per the CDC, if an athlete returns to play while the brain is still healing from a concussion, he/she runs a greater chance of experiencing a second concussion. This can be very serious, resulting in lifelong impairments or even death.
• Assistance with academic accommodations/recommendations – per the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), modifications to school environment/demands may be beneficial during the recovery process.
• Specialized equipment to diagnose and treat concussion
• Certified Brain Injury Specialist therapists – all clinicians within the concussion team have neurological and/or brain injury certifications