Spinal Cord Injury · Bengaluru

Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation in Bangalore

SENSE Health provides inpatient and outpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation led by our consultant physiatrist, Dr. Vaibhav Shivram Lokhande, with physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, a clinical nutritionist and our neurologist. Inpatients have 24/7 doctors and a 24/7 emergency response team, with ICU/HDU, oxygen and ventilator support available when clinically required, and a dedicated respiratory therapist 24/7 for tracheostomy and ventilator patients.

Rehabilitation after spinal cord injury is as much about bladder, bowel, skin, breathing and mood as it is about movement. We work on all of them from the first week.

Talk to Our Team Call +91 96633 34659
Rehabilitation floor with gait training equipment at SENSE Health, Bengaluru
Autonomic dysreflexia is a medical emergency in people injured at T6 or above: a sudden pounding headache, sweating or flushing above the injury, blurred vision or a blocked nose with a sharp rise in blood pressure. Sit the person upright, loosen tight clothing, check for a blocked catheter or a full bladder or bowel, and call 108 if it does not settle within minutes.

What Recovery Looks Like

Recovery depends on the level and completeness of the injury, described by the ASIA grades A to E. In a European cohort, about 70% of people first graded AIS A (complete) stayed in that grade during the first year, while the grade improved in about 30% of patients overall; walking recovery is uncommon after a complete injury and common after an incomplete one.

Progress is measured, not guessed. The Functional Independence Measure scores 18 daily tasks from 18 to 126; in a US database of 47,153 people with traumatic spinal cord injury, the average inpatient stay was about 26 days and scores rose by roughly 26 points between admission and discharge.

Respiratory disease, mostly pneumonia, is the leading cause of death after spinal cord injury, both in the first year and later, which is why chest care and a 24/7 respiratory therapist matter in neck-level injuries. Spasticity affected 65% of people in a Canadian registry at discharge, and about a third needed treatment for it.

Read the full guide: Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation in Bangalore: A Family Guide

What Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Involves

→Mobility and transfers
Sitting balance, transfers, wheelchair skills, standing and gait training, with robotic gait training for motor-incomplete injuries (AIS C and D) where it fits.
→Bladder and bowel programmes
Catheter care and a scheduled bowel routine set up by the nursing team and taught to the family.
→Skin and pressure-injury prevention
Weight shifts, turning schedules and daily skin checks, with pressure-relieving equipment.
→Breathing and chest care
Chest physiotherapy, respiratory therapy and, for tracheostomy or ventilator patients, a dedicated respiratory therapist 24/7.
→Spasticity, pain and mood
Stretching, positioning and medical management of spasticity and pain, with attention to mood and sleep.
→Hand function and daily living
Occupational therapy for dressing, eating, writing and the equipment that makes independence possible.

Who We Admit

✓Paraplegia or quadriplegia after injury, once surgically stable
✓Direct transfer from ICU, including people still on oxygen or a ventilator
✓Tracheostomy after a cervical injury
✓Pressure injuries needing wound care alongside rehabilitation
✓Non-traumatic spinal cord problems after surgery, infection or tumour
✓Families who need training in bladder, bowel and skin care before going home

For complete injuries, families should not expect robotic devices to restore walking; the honest goals are independence, health and preventing complications. Inpatient (direct from hospital or ICU where needed), OPD and home rehabilitation across Bengaluru.

What an Inpatient Stay Includes

Before admission, we go through a written package sheet with you that lists what is included, what is charged separately and the payment terms. You sign it only once it has been explained. Inpatient packages are available in twin-sharing or single rooms; our team recommends one based on the level of injury, medical needs, how much help the person needs and their goals.

Included in both packages

  • Bed, attender stay and patient meals (diet plan included)
  • Duty doctor consultation, 24/7 nursing and 24/7 caregivers
  • Respiratory therapy (RT care), PEG-tube and catheter care
  • Daily physiotherapy (one session a day in Essential, two in Advanced)
  • Gait training: manual, parallel bars, tilt table and body-weight-support (unweighing) system
  • Electrotherapy: TENS, NMES, IFT and therapeutic ultrasound
  • Strength training, manual therapy and chest physiotherapy
  • Robotic glove and advanced hand therapy; red and infrared light therapy

Advanced package adds

Charged separately, when clinically needed

  • Speech and swallow therapy (per session)
  • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and rTMS (per session)
  • ICU/HDU care, ICU doctors, ventilator and oxygen support, cardiac monitor, infusion and DVT pumps
  • Medicines, consumables, laboratory tests and imaging
  • Specialist consultations and attender meals

Every separately charged item is listed on the sheet you sign before admission, so it is never a surprise at discharge. An advance payment and a refundable security deposit apply at admission. Our admissions team verifies insurance coverage and helps with pre-authorisation. For how to compare any centre's quote, read our guide to rehabilitation costs.

Who Looks After You

Rehabilitation at SENSE Health is medically led. Inpatients are looked after by our 24/7 emergency response team: on-site doctors trained in emergency management, with ICU experience, backed by Cloudphysician's intensivists through 24/7 remote tele-ICU and Smart ICU monitoring. Meet the team on our About page.

Dr. Vaibhav Shivram Lokhande

  • Co-founder, SENSE Health
  • MBBS, DNB (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation); Fellowship (Taiwan, Korea)
  • Consultant Physiatrist: specialist in neuro rehabilitation, including stroke rehabilitation; 17 years of experience
  • KMC Reg. No. DLH 2019 0000421 KTK · Full profile →

Dr. Manikanta

  • Founder & Managing Director
  • MBBS (RGUHS); Fellowship in Emergency Medicine; PG Diploma, Biomedical Engineering (IIT Delhi, in progress)
  • Co-reviews our patient-education articles · Full profile →

Neurologist, 24/7 doctors and therapy team

  • Neurologist for medical review of neurological conditions
  • 24/7 medical officers and emergency response team
  • Dedicated respiratory therapist, 24/7, for tracheostomy and ventilator patients
  • Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and swallow therapists (who work in Kannada), nurses, caregivers and clinical nutrition

How Admission Works

Call or WhatsApp us, or walk inOPD is open Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 7 PM. If your family member is still in another hospital, call early so there is time to plan the move calmly.
Free initial consultationBring the discharge summary, scan reports, the current medicine list and insurance details. Our team assesses movement and sensation (ASIA grade), bladder, bowel and skin, breathing, spasticity, daily activities and medical stability, and discusses whether inpatient rehabilitation, OPD therapy or home care fits best.
Written package sheetWe go through the inpatient package with you line by line: room type, what is included, what is charged separately and the payment terms. You sign it once it has been explained.
Admission and a plan that is reviewedTherapy starts on admission. If your family member's needs change, for example a new medical problem, we explain why and discuss any addition with you before it happens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my family member walk again after a spinal cord injury?

It depends mostly on whether the injury is complete or incomplete. After a complete injury (AIS A), walking recovery is uncommon; after an incomplete injury (AIS C or D), many people regain some walking. The ASIA grade is assessed on admission and the goals are set honestly around it.

Does robotic gait training help in spinal cord injury?

It can give safe, repeated walking practice for people with motor-incomplete injuries who have some leg movement, alongside overground walking. For complete injuries it does not restore walking, and we say so at assessment.

How are bladder and bowel managed?

With a programme, not improvisation: catheter care or intermittent catheterisation as advised, and a scheduled bowel routine at a fixed time, usually after a meal, using the methods set out in clinical practice guidelines. The family is trained before discharge.

Can a patient with a tracheostomy or on a ventilator be admitted?

Yes. A dedicated respiratory therapist is available 24/7 for tracheostomy and ventilator patients, with on-site doctors and Cloudphysician's intensivists through tele-ICU. Ventilator, oxygen and ICU/HDU care are charged separately and listed on the package sheet before admission.

How long is the stay?

It varies with the level of injury and goals. In a large US database the average inpatient stay for traumatic spinal cord injury was about 26 days; complex injuries take longer. A personalised timeline is set at admission and reviewed every week.

Planning Rehabilitation After a Spinal Cord Injury?

Call us while your family member is still in hospital. Share the injury level and current medical needs, and we will explain what the first weeks of rehabilitation involve.

WhatsApp Us Call +91 96633 34659 OPD Monday–Saturday, 9 AM–7 PM · AVR Heights, 100 Feet Road, HRBR Layout 1st Block, Kalyan Nagar, Bengaluru 560043 · Get directions