Rehabilitation addresses a wide variety of impairments and problems. For example, someone may be experiencing limited or painful movement of hands, arms, legs or other parts of the body. They may be having difficulty with physical activities like sitting up, standing or walking. Balance may be a problem. Or it could be problems with breathing, swallowing or talking.

Rehabilitation is intended to help an individual recover as fully as possible and, where full recovery is not possible, to function with any limitations as independently as possible.

World Health Organization defintion:

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In the past, WHO defined rehabilitation as:

"A progressive, dynamic, goal-oriented and often time-limited process, which enables an individual with an impairment to identify and reach his/her optimal mental, physical, cognitive and/or social functional level. Rehabilitation provides opportunities for the individual, the family and the community to accommodate a limitation or loss of function and aims to facilitate social integration and independence."

More recently, the WHO's definition of rehabilitation was revised:

"Rehabilitation of people with disabilities is a process aimed at enabling them to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychological and social functional levels. Rehabilitation provides disabled people with the tools they need to attain independence and self-determination." (2007)

The WHO website provides a description of activities, reports, news and events, as well as contacts and cooperating partners in the various WHO programs and offices working on this topic. The site also includes links to related web sites and topics.