I'm in rehab
This window matters. Motion is medicine: the stretching, positioning, and range-of-motion work you do now decides how much freedom your joints give you later — this site exists because our founder learned that the hard way. Everything on the site for this stage is below, organized around one goal: leave rehab with more than you came in with.
Compare facilities
The Rehab Finder →
~1,200 U.S. inpatient facilities compared on quality, SCI volume, and Model System status.Know the road
The Hospital Phase →
Acute care to inpatient rehab, step by step — what happens and what to push for.The gold standard
SCI Model Systems →
The 18 top research hospitals for SCI care — and why being at one matters.Understand the injury
The questions everyone asks in the first months — answered honestly, in plain language, without false certainty in either direction.
- What to Expect by Injury LevelFunction level by level, C1–C4 through sacral
- Complete vs. IncompleteWhat your ASIA classification actually means
- Will I Recover?Prognosis, timelines, and realistic hope
- Spinal ShockWhy early exams can look worse than the real injury
- Your Spinal Fusion, DecodedRods, screws, cages, and collars: what your surgeon did and why
- Non-Traumatic SCITumors, infections, ischemia — when there was no accident
- Pediatric SCIA guide for families of injured children
- The SCI GlossaryEvery term the care team keeps using, in plain language
Make every session count
Therapy hours are the most valuable currency you have right now. Spend them deliberately — and keep fighting for more.
- Physical Therapy & RehabActivity-based therapy, FES, and fighting for more gains
- Protect Your Hands & JointsPreventing the contractures that steal function — starting now
- Transfers & Wheelchair SkillsThe mechanics of independence
- Fight for the Right RehabWhy the facility choice shapes recovery — and how to switch
- Activity-Based Therapy FinderABT programs and gyms to continue gains after discharge
Protect your body now
The complications that derail rehab are mostly preventable. Learn the big ones before they find you.
- Pressure InjuriesThey start in hospital beds — daily checks from day one
- Autonomic DysreflexiaThe emergency protocol to learn before you need it
- Bladder ManagementCatheter options and the education rehab should be giving you
- Bowel ManagementGetting a program that works before discharge
- Blood ClotsDVT risk is highest in these months — signs and prevention
- Low Blood PressureOrthostatic hypotension and surviving the tilt table
- Spasticity & SpasmsWhen tone shows up as spinal shock fades
- Respiratory CareBreathing exercises, cough assist, and pneumonia prevention
- High Cervical & Vent LifeThe C1–C4 survival guide for patients and families
- Mental Health & AdjustmentGrief, adjustment, and getting real help — it's part of rehab
Plan the going-home project
Discharge is a project — start it at least two weeks out. Equipment and home modifications take longer than anyone tells you.
- What to Ask Before DischargeEverything to secure before you leave
- The Equipment GuideOrder the wheelchair early — denials and delays are the norm
- Wheelchair CushionsYour first cushion is a medical decision, not an accessory
- Home ModificationsRamp, doorways, bathroom — start the work now
- Accessible HousingWhen the current home can't be made to work
- Health InsurancePrior-auth and appeals for equipment and rehab days
- Disability & BenefitsSSDI/SSI take months — start the paperwork from the hospital
- Hiring PCAsLine up help before you're home and need it
For family, right now
Rehab is when caregivers get trained — insist on it. These are the essentials for the people in your corner.