Phase 4: Return to Activity

Phase 4 - Return to Activity

Phase 4 is functional rehabilitation.  This is when patients are conditioned to return to the necessary activities of their daily lives.  Again, this phase is widely varied based on the condition being treated and the patient’s lifestyle.  Functional rehabilitation for a person who sustained a spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in quadriplegia is going to be very different from a college soccer player who is recovering from a non-surgical ankle injury.  In either case, the goals of Phase IV have to be specific, appropriate, and realistic.  The specific goal of hopping on one foot while changing direction on an uneven surface would be an unrealistic and inappropriate goal for the spinal cord patient.  The specific goal of holding a pencil would be an inappropriate goal for the soccer player, as holding a pencil (even if he could no longer do so) is not a necessary skill for returning to competitive soccer.