The term "rehab" is short for "rehabilitation" and in popular usage refers to the practices of physical therapy that serve to help restore functionality to a person affected by a degree of physical disability from injury, surgery, or a neurological event such as a stroke.

The emphasis of the discipline is to optimize physical function. By using specialized exercises and therapy procedures, a therapist might seek to improve an individual's physical strength, balance, or dexterity.

There are different kinds of therapists who specialize in given treatments so that it is common to see references to physical therapists, occupational therapist, and speech therapists who all perform aspects of "rehab" for the affected individual.

These services may be performed at specialized clinics, in hospital settings, or in some instances even in the home of the patient. The length of time required for the therapy varies from patient to patient and by the source of their disability.

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