Spinal Cord Injury Medicine & Rehabilitation

Physical Therapist Helping a Women Walk in a Therapy Gym

If you or a loved one experiences a spinal cord injury, trust Burke Rehabilitation to restore your abilities as much as possible and prevent complications. We offer inpatient and outpatient services to help optimize your recovery at every stage.

CARF Accredited Spinal Cord Specialty Programs

Burke Rehabilitation inpatient and outpatient spinal cord specialty programs hold CARF accreditation. You can expect to receive the highest-quality, innovative care from our compassionate staff.

For additional information, view the Spinal Cord Injury Medicine & Rehabilitation Program Descriptions.

Benefits of Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation helps you improve your quality of life following a spinal cord injury. Burke’s program can:

Help you meet your goals and ongoing needs
Improve your overall health and function
Increase your level of independence
Provide emotional support and education

Conditions We Treat

Trust the Burke spinal cord injury experts to diagnose and treat:

Traumatic spinal cord injuries
Myelopathies
Spinal cord tumors
Spinal cord or vertebral infections
Transverse myelitis
Guillain-Barre syndrome
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Spinal cord infarctions and aneurysms

The Burke Difference

A rehabilitation program at a specialty facility like Burke can help you recover more robustly than at a nursing home. That’s because we offer 24/7 physician coverage to monitor your health. Our experience, expertise, and healing environment create a proven approach that improves outcomes, independence, and quality of life.

View our 2025 key spinal cord injury rehabilitation outcomes:

SCI outcomes

Certified SCI Rehabilitation Specialists

Your Burke Rehabilitation Hospital care team puts you at the center of goal setting and treatment. Team members meet weekly to discuss how you’re doing and adjust your personalized care plan, so you make steady progress. Team members may include:

Spinal cord injury medicine physiatrists
Neuropsychologist, Psychiatrists
Neurologists
24/7 Rehabilitation Nurses
PT, OT, Speech, Respiratory, Recreation Therapists
Nutritionists
Orthotists
Social Worker
Wound Care Specialists

Specialized SCI Services

SCI Support Group & Peer Mentoring
Assistive Technology
Wheelchair Seating including Pressure Mapping
Home Evaluation & Accessibility Recommendations
Bowel & Bladder Nurse Education
Neurologic Music Therapy®
Swallowing Therapy, including Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation
Community Skills Evaluation
Caregiver Training & Support

State-of-the-Art Therapeutic Equipment

Body weight supported treadmill to improve balance and walking
Ceiling-mounted systems and robot-assisted technology to optimize motor recovery
Electrical stimulation to improve walking or use of arms/hands
Vibration Therapy
Patient rooms with environmental controls to maximize independence

Taking Back Control:

Caregiver Education Series on Neurogenic Bowel and Bladder Management After SCI.

Nutrition Therapy in Bowel and Bladder Management for SCI Patients
Patricia Coar, MPH, RD, CDN, CDE

The Role of the Caregiver
Marlena Orme, LCSW

Neurogenic Bowel Management After Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
Siobhan McKenna OTR/L

Neurogenic Bowel in Spinal Cord Injury Patients
Jennie Valles, MD

Neurogenic Bladder in Spinal Cord Injury Patients
Shelly Hsieh, MD

Neurogenic Bladder Management After SCI
Elizabeth Rider, OTR/L

Taking Control Back - Coping and Adjustment to Change After Spinal Cord Injury Jaime Twaite, Ph D

Taking Control Back - Catheterization Techniques for Male SCI Patients DJ Talabi

Taking Control Back - Catheterization Techniques for Female SCI Patients Loriann O’Brien, MSN, RN, CRRN

This series is possible through funding from the Craig H Neilsen Foundation Creating Opportunity & Independence grant funding (Grant Cycle October 2021-September 2023).

Life After Your Burke Rehabilitation Hospital Stay

Our goal is to get you safely home so that you can live your best life among the people, places, and community you love. Learn more about your recovery journey and life after your hospital stay.

Burke Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy Program 

To continue your spinal cord injury recovery, your doctor may prescribe one or more outpatient therapies after you return home from the hospital. You can build strength following an inpatient rehabilitation stay at one of our convenient outpatient locations. For patients recovering from SCI this may include:

Alternative & Augmentative Communication (AAC) - Burke’s speech-language pathologists can assist you in establishing your candidacy for compensatory communication methods, from “low-tech” communication boards and index cards to “high-tech” speech-generating AAC devices
Functional Electric Stimulation - Large muscle functional electrical stimulation helps people with neurologic impairments, paralysis, and movement problems move their legs and arms, improve walking ability, and maintain muscle strength and tone.
Gait (Walking) Rehabilitation - Burke physical therapists may use gait and locomotor training for your therapy regimen. This includes body weight support systems over the ground, such as the Vector, and on the treadmill, as well as wearable devices that help you coordinate muscle movement.
Muscle Tone Management Injections - Injections help manage arm muscle tone and spasticity and recover the functional use of your arms and hands
Social Services - Burke’s licensed clinical social worker connects you to resources and helps you navigate insurance and applications for charity care, housing, and more
Swallowing Evaluations & Treatment - Burke’s speech-language pathologists will assess your ability to chew and swallow foods and liquids via clinical exams and tests and recommend swallowing treatment as needed
Upper Limb Recovery & Training - Burke’s occupational therapists help you regain arm and hand function. We offer customized treatment using the latest research and technologies, including electrical stimulation programs and devices
Vision Rehabilitation - Burke’s specially trained occupational therapists can provide strategies and exercises to lessen visual or perceptual challenges caused by neurological problems
Wheelchair Clinic - Burke’s certified assistive technology practitioner provides extensive wheelchair seating and positioning evaluations

Burke Outpatient Physician Practice

The Burke Rehabilitation Outpatient Physician Practice is a team of physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors dedicated to providing the most advanced, personalized care for individuals with neurological, musculoskeletal, and orthopedic conditions. For patients recovering from spinal cord injuries this may include:

Electrodiagnostic testing – Looks at how well your muscles and nerves work
Intrathecal baclofen pump – Reduces spasticity so that you can move more easily
Muscle tone management injections – Injections help manage arm muscle tone and spasticity and recover the functional use of your arms and hands
Nerve blocks – Stop nerves from sending pain signals to certain body areas using an anesthetic or anti-inflammatory medicine
Neuropsychological rehabilitation – Builds skills to help you live more independently
Spasticity Clinic – Helps you regain muscle control so you can do more of your daily activities

Burke Community Programs

If you are recovering from a spinal cord injury you may also want to take advantage of the many resources available through Burke Rehabilitation such as:

The Burke Fitness Center - Provides various exercise and education programs, including our Neurological Exercise Program
Burke Everything Else Education Program (BEEEP) - Includes seminar education on navigating life with a spinal cord injury
The Burke Spinal Cord Injury Support Group - Helps you connect with others who have had a spinal cord injury
Take Back Control Program - Helps people in the hospital manage neurogenic bowel and bladder control to live a fulfilling and active life confidently

Spinal Cord Injury Medicine & Rehabilitation

CARF Accredited Spinal Cord Specialty Programs

Benefits of Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Conditions We Treat