Rehabilitation of the burn patient

Rehabilitation is an essential and integral part of burn treatment. It is not something which takes place following healing of skin grafts or discharge from hospital; instead it is a process that starts from day one of admission and continues for months and sometimes years after the initial event. Burns rehabilitation is not something which is completed by one or two individuals but should be a team approach, incorporating the patient and when appropriate, their family. The term 'Burns Rehabilitation' incorporates the physical, psychological and social aspects of care and it is common for burn patients to experience difficulties in one or all of these areas following a burn injury. Burns can leave a patient with severely debilitating and deforming contractures, which can lead to significant disability when left untreated. The aims of burn rehabilitation are to minimise the adverse effects caused by the injury in terms of maintaining range of movement, minimising contracture development and impact of scarring, maximising functional ability, maximising psychological wellbeing, maximising social integration.