At AristaCare at Cedar Oaks, we have chosen to set a very high standard for our rehabilitative care. We have a commitment to provide the same level services that one would find in an acute rehab setting in regard to therapist training and technologies. Our therapists are hand-picked professionals who are experts in their respective fields. They have received specialized training in various advanced therapeutic approaches and technologies. They are committed to active on-going professional development. AristaCare at Cedar Oaks is also committed to ensuring that the therapists have leading-edge rehabilitation technologies at their disposal. Many times these technologies are only found at acute rehab hospitals and many patients do not have access to care at this level. We have chosen to bring this level of care to the sub acute setting where more patients have access to the current technologies that are bringing about exceptional outcomes. Both of these areas of commitment are exceptional and not commonly seen at the Sub Acute level of care.

Philosophy of Neurological Rehabilitation

Due to the advances in neurological research, those with traumatic neurological conditions, such as stroke, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries, have new hope through the development of our understanding of the “neuroplasticity” of the body’s central nervous system (CNS).

In the field of medicine, we used to believe that once an injury occurred to the nervous system, the damage had been done and the patient would never really be able to regain function past the first few months. So, we would do what rehabilitation we could, but a large part of the rehab treatment focused on compensation rather than rehabilitation. The neuroplasticity of the CNS refers to the body’s ability to form new motor pathways to promote functional movement. So, in the event that a motor pathway for a certain functional activity (walking, for example) is disrupted, the body does have the ability to train a new motor pathway to carry out that specific functional activity. Retraining these motor pathways involves practicing that specific functional activity in a “normal” manner repetitively over a significant time frame dependant upon the severity of the injury.

When injury has occurred to the body, it does not have the capacity to practice “normal” function, so researchers have developed technologies and techniques that can assist the body to move in “normal” ways so that “normal” functional activities can be practiced. Some of these technologies and therapeutic approaches include: Bioness FES (functional electric stimulation orthoses) for the arm and ankle, locomotor training utilizing the TheraStride bodyweight-supported treadmill system and Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy. We, at AristaCare at Cedar Oaks, have developed our NeuroRehab program around the neuroplasticity of the CNS and the associated technologies and therapeutic approaches. Our program has been birthed from current clinical research and is fully committed to staying current so we can provide the best care for our patients in helping them obtain optimal functional outcomes.