Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation & Community Management

Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Specialist long-term rehabilitation focused on function, independence, and quality of life.

Living with a spinal cord injury involves far more than physical recovery alone. At GC Rehab, we provide specialist spinal cord injury rehabilitation focused on helping individuals optimise long-term function, health, independence, and participation across every stage of the rehabilitation journey.

GC Rehab’s spinal cord injury rehabilitation service is led by rehabilitation physician Judith Dierkes, with a focus on long-term neurological rehabilitation, community-based spinal cord injury care, and functional optimisation.

The service is complemented by the expertise of rehabilitation physician Jom Jiao, whose practice has a particular focus on complex spasticity management, ultrasound-guided rehabilitation procedures, and advanced interventional neurorehabilitation.

Together, GC Rehab provides personalised specialist rehabilitation care that works alongside patients, families, therapists, general practitioners, and tertiary spinal services to support long-term wellbeing and quality of life.

Our Approach

Spinal cord injury rehabilitation is often lifelong and evolves over time. Many individuals living with spinal cord injury continue to experience challenges relating to mobility, pain, spasticity, fatigue, upper limb overuse, seating and positioning, and long-term health maintenance.

At GC Rehab, we believe rehabilitation should focus not only on managing medical complications, but also on helping individuals live well, maintain independence, and participate meaningfully in everyday life.

Our clinic aims to complement and augment existing spinal cord injury services by providing accessible specialist rehabilitation care within the community.

Specialist Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Services

We provide specialist rehabilitation assessment and management for individuals living with spinal cord injury, including:

Spasticity management
Neuropathic and musculoskeletal pain
Mobility and functional concerns
Fatigue management
Seating and positioning issues
Upper limb overuse syndromes
Autonomic dysfunction
Ageing with spinal cord injury
Complex neurological rehabilitation needs

Functional Rehabilitation & Long-Term Optimisation

Our focus extends beyond isolated treatments alone. We aim to support long-term function, independence, and quality of life through:

Functional rehabilitation planning
Mobility optimisation
Exercise rehabilitation
Community participation
Prevention of secondary complications
Coordination with allied health and support teams
Ongoing rehabilitation review and monitoring

Advanced Interventional Rehabilitation

GC Rehab offers advanced rehabilitation medicine procedures that may assist with pain, spasticity, comfort, positioning, and function, including:

Ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injections
Diagnostic nerve blocks
Ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections
Cryoneurolysis
Targeted focal pain and spasticity interventions

These interventions are integrated within broader rehabilitation goals and multidisciplinary care planning.

Ageing Well with Spinal Cord Injury

The needs of individuals living with spinal cord injury often change over time. Long-term rehabilitation may involve adapting to evolving mobility needs, managing pain and fatigue, preserving musculoskeletal health, and preventing secondary complications.

GC Rehab provides ongoing specialist rehabilitation review focused on helping individuals maintain long-term function, comfort, health, and independence throughout different stages of life.

Collaborative Care

We work collaboratively with:

General practitioners
Physiotherapists
Occupational therapists
Exercise physiologists
Support coordinators
Specialist spinal services
Community rehabilitation providers

Our goal is to support coordinated, patient-centred care while helping bridge the gap between tertiary rehabilitation services and long-term community management.