At Healing Touch Rehab, we specialise in physiotherapy for patients with spinal cord injuries and related conditions. Our team of therapists and medical specialists collaborate to provide treatments that promote neural recovery and support the rehabilitation process. We offer therapy tailored to each patient’s needs. Our goal is to help individuals regain function and improve their quality of life after traumatic injuries or acute spinal cord damage. Rehabilitation is crucial for optimising function, reducing disability, and addressing impairments caused by paralysis. With targeted treatments, we can help improve body control, muscle strength, and overall health, aiding in the journey to recovery and independence.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can occur due to traumatic events that affect the vertebrae, ligaments, or discs of the spine, or directly impact the spinal cord itself. The spinal cord is a complex network of nerves that run through the spine and play a vital role in controlling both skeletal and visceral muscles. These neural pathways are crucial for enabling individuals to move their bodies and regulate essential functions such as sensation, movement, breathing, bladder control, and bowel movements.
When the spinal cord tissue sustains an injury, the messages traveling from the brain to the rest of the body are disrupted, leading to conditions such as paralysis, loss of sensation, or impaired movement below the level of the injury. While the functions above the point of injury usually remain unaffected, areas below may suffer significant damage. For individuals facing traumatic spinal cord injuries, timely care is vital. Rehabilitation and therapy are central to recovery, offering treatments like physiotherapy, neural stem cell therapy, or surgical interventions to treat damage and promote recovery.
Causes
Spinal cord injuries are often the result of traumatic damage to the vertebral spine, leading to paralysis, loss of function, and significant neural damage. These injuries can occur after trauma, infections, or other medical conditions. At our rehabilitation center, we provide specialised rehabilitation and therapy services, including physiotherapy and occupational treatments, to support your recovery. Our team of therapists focuses on helping you regain function and improve your quality of life with tailored treatments designed to treat spinal cord injuries and related health conditions effectively.
A traumatic spinal cord injury often occurs suddenly, due to a forceful impact on the spine that results in fractures, dislocations, crushes, or compressions of one or more vertebrae. This type of injury is commonly seen in cases of road traffic accidents, sports-related incidents, and falls. On the other hand, non-traumatic spinal cord injuries can be caused by conditions such as arthritis, cancer, inflammation, infections, spinal cord haemorrhage, vascular malformations or disc degeneration of the spine. These conditions may lead to damage in the neural tissue of the spinal cord and ultimately result in paralysis or loss of function.
Types of Spinal Injuries
A complete spinal cord injury can lead to a total loss of movement and sensory function below the level of damage. This means that both sides of the body will be equally affected, presenting significant challenges for individuals. On the other hand, an incomplete injury may result in varying degrees of movement and sensation loss below the level of trauma. In such cases, there is a possibility that one side of the body may retain more function than the other, offering some hope for recovery and rehabilitation through therapeutic treatments and care.
Treatment Approach
As a dedicated team of physiotherapists and occupational therapists, we are strong proponents of an interdisciplinary approach to care. By working closely with our clients, we aim to restore physical function, address functional rehabilitation needs, provide vocational placements, and support their psycho-social well-being. This holistic rehabilitation strategy ensures that every aspect of the client’s recovery journey is carefully considered, leading to more comprehensive and effective treatment outcomes.
Our team of expert therapists offers specialised spinal cord injury rehabilitation services to support individuals in their recovery journey. Whether you are at home, in your community, or at work, we provide personalised treatment plans tailored to your specific needs and goals. Through a thorough assessment process, our specialists identify the best course of action for optimal outcomes.
We will provide continued tailored support and rehabilitation focused on enhancing the client’s ongoing progress in spinal cord injury recovery. This holistic therapy approach is designed to promote independence both at home and within the community, while also addressing long-term goals for a successful return to leisure activities and work.
How does a multidisciplinary approach help individuals with spinal injuries:
- Strength and flexibility
- Balance
- Standing
- Walking practice
- Re-education of movement patterns
- Gait re-education
- Wheelchair advice
- Seating and postural advice
- Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)
- FES Bike assessment
- Provision of orthotics and splinting
- Advice on equipment, activities and assistive technology
- Techniques for transfers (bed, shower chair, bath, toilet, car)
- Independent living skills
- Techniques for bed mobility
- Moving and Handling assessment and advice
- Hydrotherapy assessment and treatment
- Pain management
- Wheelchair advice
- Provision of orthotics
- Advice regarding equipment, activities and assistive technology
- Training of support workers and carers
FES Cycling
Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycling revolutionizes rehabilitation for spinal cord injury patients by transforming paralysis into active participation. The RehaMove FES program seamlessly integrates into daily routines, whether patients are bed-bound or using therapy chairs. This innovative therapy ignites muscles with high-intensity exercises, boosting cardiovascular health and metabolic function while enhancing flexibility through passive movements. By building muscle strength, it significantly improves functional abilities and quality of life.
Incorporating FES cycling in rehabilitation isn’t just exercise, it’s a journey to reclaim bodily control and foster neural regeneration.
The RehaMove sequence training mode offers cutting-edge stimulation for essential functional movements like walking, sit-to-stand transitions, and shoulder stabilization exercises. This pioneering approach addresses spinal cord injuries effectively, making recovery more dynamic and empowering than ever before.
Book a treatment home, school or community visit
To make clients feel as comfortable as possible, we offer home visits or arrange treatment at one of our community clinics at William Merritt Centre, Leeds, or a similar centre or location of your choice in your local community across the North West and Yorkshire, or we could arrange to see you at a suitable space within your community.
We appreciate our clients may have mobility restrictions and will always consider how to make consultations and treatments as convenient, time optimised and pain-free as possible. Community-based rehabilitation and integration back into the community is the key to any successful rehabilitation. Besides the benefit of a familiar environment and the discipline of following treatment plans within their own setting , community-based treatment enables the client to stay motivated while involving their family and friends.
Contact Us
Let’s Begin This Journey Together.
2, Feast Field, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4TJ – opening September 2025
Phone: 0333 090 2803
Email: info@healingtouchrehab.co.uk
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am – 6pm
Location
From Horsforth Train Station: (23 min walk, 4 min drive)
- Exit Horsforth Train Station onto Station Road
- Walk up Station Road and take first exit at the first roundabout onto Long Row
- At the junction opposite ‘The Brownlee Arms’, bear to the left and follow the road until you see Feast Field lane on the left-hand side
- 2 Feast Field is a short distance down the road
Nearby Accommodation
We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with Village Hotel North Leeds to provide all clients a 10% discount on their stay. Please contact us for the discount code upon your booking with us.
