Traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: the team NINDS lists, including PT, OT, and speech therapy
NINDS says people with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are often moved to a rehabilitation center after the hospital, where the team “may include” physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists, among others. It also describes cognitive rehabilitation therapy. Mild TBI and concussion, in CDC’s words, are on the concussion page. This page quotes NINDS only.
Quoted from official pages checked November 12, 2026. Confirm current information on those sites. This page is not medical advice and does not describe any patient’s care.
Source read on November 12, 2026: NINDS’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) page (last reviewed on March 13, 2026).
What a TBI is, in NINDS’s words
NINDS states: “A traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to a brain injury that is caused by an outside force.” It adds: “Some types of TBI can cause temporary or short-term problems with brain function, including problems with how a person thinks, understands, moves, communicates, and acts. More serious TBIs can lead to severe and permanent disability—and even death.”
Among the symptoms NINDS lists are “Problems remembering, concentrating, or making decisions” and “Light-headedness, dizziness, vertigo, or loss of balance or coordination”. For children it lists signs such as “Loss of a skill, such as toilet training” and “Loss of balance or unsteady walking”.
Rehabilitation for severe TBI
NINDS states: “Once their injuries are treated and stabilized in the hospital, people with severe TBI are often transferred to a rehabilitation center where a multidisciplinary team of providers help with recovery.” The team it lists: neurologists, nurses, psychologists, nutritionists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, vocational therapists, speech therapists, and respiratory therapists. NINDS uses the term “speech therapists”; the profession’s title is speech-language pathologist.
On the aim: “Therapy is aimed at improving the person's ability to perform activities of daily living and to address cognitive, physical, occupational, and emotional difficulties. Treatment may be needed on a short- or long-term basis.”
On cognitive rehabilitation: “Cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) is a strategy aimed at helping people regain their normal brain function through an individualized training program. Using this strategy, people also may learn strategies for coping with persistent memory, problem solving, and thinking problems.” NINDS does not say which profession provides CRT, and this page does not either.
What affects recovery
NINDS states: “Many factors—including the size, severity, and location of the injury—influence how TBI is treated and how quickly a person might recover.” And: “Compared with younger adults with the same TBI severity, older adults are more likely to have lasting symptoms.”
NINDS does not describe each team member’s role, and it gives no therapy schedule. Medicare’s inpatient rehabilitation rules are on Medicare IRF coverage.
What this page does not do
It does not repeat NINDS’s sections on emergency care, surgery, medicines, or research. It is not medical advice and does not recommend any treatment, medicine, or product. Scope of practice for each profession is set by state law; check your state board.