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Burn rehabilitation is an essential component of successful patient care. In May 2008, a group of burn rehabilitation clinicians met to discuss the status and future needs of burn rehabilitation. Fifteen topic areas pertinent to clinical burn rehabilitation were addressed. Consensus positions and suggested future research directions regarding the physical aspects of burn rehabilitation are shared.

The objective of this review was to systematically evaluate available clinical evidence for the application of nonsilicone or silicone gels and gel sheets on hypertrophic scars and keloids after a burn injury so that practice guidelines could be proposed. This review provides evidence based recommendations, specifically for the rehabilitation interventions required for the treatment of aberrant wound healing after burn injury with gels or gel sheets. These guidelines are designed to assist all healthcare providers who are responsible for initiating and supporting scar management interventions prescribed for burn survivors. Summary recommendations were made after the literature, retrieved by systematic review, was critically appraised and the level of evidence determined according to Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine criteria.

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Previous studies indicate that rehabilitation programs supplemented with a strength and endurance-based exercise program improve lean body mass, pulmonary function, endurance, strength, and functional outcomes in severely burned children over the age of 7-years when compared to standard of care. To date, supplemental exercise programming for severely burned children under the age of 7-years has not yet been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine if a 12-week rehabilitation program supplemented with music & exercise, was more effective in improving functional outcomes than the standard of care alone. METHODS This is a descriptive study that measured elbow and knee range of motion (ROM) in 24 severely burned children between ages two and six years. Groups were compared for demographics as well as active and passive ROM to bilateral elbows and knees. A total of 15 patients completed the rehabilitation with supplemental music and exercise, and data was compared to 9 patients who received standard of care. RESULTS Patients receiving the 12-week program significantly improved ROM in all joints assessed except for one. Patients receiving standard of care showed a significant improvement in only one of the joints assessed. CONCLUSION Providing a structured supplemental music and exercise program in conjunction with occupational and physical therapy seems to improve both passive and active ROM to a greater extent than the standard of care alone.