Concussion Rehabilitation

For those with persistent cognitive or physical difficulties, concussion rehabilitation services are available on an outpatient basis at NYU Langone. Rusk Rehabilitation’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program helps people with these types of injuries to improve strength, coordination, balance, endurance, attention, problem solving, and other everyday skills.

Depending on each person’s needs, this program may include sessions with physical or occupational therapists, speech—language pathologists, social workers, vision therapists, or psychologists. Therapy may be provided individually or in groups, depending on your needs.

To treat dizziness or imbalance, your doctor may recommend vestibular therapy, a form of physical therapy that enhances your body’s natural ability to compensate for balance problems. Rusk Rehabilitation’s Vestibular Rehabilitation Program, the first of its kind in the tri-state area, offers balance retraining through specific exercises as well as sensory organization training, gaze stabilization exercises, and aerobic conditioning.

If you have visual impairment or difficulties, your doctor may prescribe vision therapy. This can help to address vision problems that may be exacerbating other symptoms, such as headaches, or making it difficult to read or use the computer.

For people 18 to 65 years old who have more severe traumatic brain injuries with substantial cognitive dysfunction and sufficient stamina to handle a five-hour treatment day, the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program offers a 20-week course that incorporates family members into the rehabilitation process. The program provides a safe, structured environment for people with brain injuries to learn new skills.

It also offers peer support to encourage participants to modify challenging behaviors, practice new compensatory skills, and develop realistic expectations for their progress. The involvement of family members helps people with brain injuries to transfer the strategies learned into their everyday lives.