Ukraine approves standard for rehabilitation after spinal cord injuries
21.10.2025
News
Spinal cord injury is one of the most challenging conditions faced by rehabilitation specialists worldwide. It is often accompanied by impaired mobility, sensitivity, pelvic organ function, and the risk of complications such as bedsores, infections, and respiratory or cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, patients require urgent medical care and the earliest possible start of rehabilitation.
In Ukraine, spinal cord injuries remain among the most common injuries sustained as a result of combat operations, both among military personnel and civilians. For example, in 2024, Ukrainian healthcare facilities providing rehabilitation care admitted about 3,500 patients with spinal injuries, while in 2021 — before the full-scale war began — there were half as many cases.
Ukraine now has its first national standard for rehabilitation care for spinal cord injuries, which defines how care should be provided — from the first days after the injury to the person's return to normal life.
The document describes three periods of recovery — acute, post-acute and long-term — and provides for the work of a multidisciplinary team: a physical and rehabilitation medicine doctor, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a rehabilitation nurse, a social worker and other specialists. Each member of the team has a defined area of responsibility to ensure that the recovery process is consistent and continuous.
For the first time, quality indicators for rehabilitation care have been introduced, which will allow its effectiveness to be assessed and treatment approaches to be improved.
The standard was developed based on adapted clinical guidelines, taking into account international recommendations from SCIRE, ISCoS, Can-SCIP, and PVA, which ensures that the Ukrainian rehabilitation system is in line with modern global practices.
The approval of rehabilitation care standards is one of the priorities of the Government's Action Programme. Work is ongoing: the next standards are already being prepared — for after amputations, for cerebral palsy, for after fractures, strokes and for premature babies.
The photos were taken from open internet sources.
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We continue inclusive transportation: helping those in need
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News
Ukraine approves standard for rehabilitation after spinal cord injuries
Spinal cord injury is one of the most challenging conditions faced by rehabilitation specialists worldwide. It is often accompanied by impaired mobility, sensitivity, pelvic organ function, and the risk of complications such as bedsores, infections, and respiratory or cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, patients require urgent medical care and the earliest possible start of rehabilitation. In Ukraine, spinal cord injuries remain among the most common injuries sustained as a result of combat operations, both among military personnel and civilians. For example, in 2024, Ukrainian healthcare facilities providing rehabilitation care admitted about 3,500 patients with spinal injuries, while in 2021 — before the full-scale war began — there were half as many cases. Ukraine now has its first national standard for rehabilitation care for spinal cord injuries, which defines how care should be provided — from the first days after the injury to the person's return to normal life. The document describes three periods of recovery — acute, post-acute and long-term — and provides for the work of a multidisciplinary team: a physical and rehabilitation medicine doctor, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a rehabilitation nurse, a social worker and other specialists. Each member of the team has a defined area of responsibility to ensure that the recovery process is consistent and continuous. For the first time, quality indicators for rehabilitation care have been introduced, which will allow its effectiveness to be assessed and treatment approaches to be improved. The standard was developed based on adapted clinical guidelines, taking into account international recommendations from SCIRE, ISCoS, Can-SCIP, and PVA, which ensures that the Ukrainian rehabilitation system is in line with modern global practices. The approval of rehabilitation care standards is one of the priorities of the Government's Action Programme. Work is ongoing: the next standards are already being prepared — for after amputations, for cerebral palsy, for after fractures, strokes and for premature babies. The photos were taken from open internet sources.
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