Rehabilitation

Following a fragility fracture, patients face a long journey to recovery and often require extended care from multiple carers/providers in both hospital and community settings. Beyond the physical challenges to recovery, social and psychological factors can also affect the rehabilitation and recovery process. This chapter focuses on rehabilitation across the care continuum, including interprofessional care. The aim of the chapter is to promote the role of nurses and other practitioners in progressing mobility through the rehabilitation process. Decline in mobility after a fragility fracture is common and should be directly addressed by the Rehabilitation Team (rehabilitation nurse, physiotherapist, and/or occupational therapist). Intentionally making exercises more difficult (progressive overload), choosing exercises and activities specific to the patient’s goals and functional level (specificity), and a targeted and concrete plan for continued activity and movement after discharge are all essential to returning the patient to their pre-fracture functional level.