Rehabilitation Principles There are seven principles upon which rehabilitation is based. Avoid aggravation. Therapeutic exercise, if applied incorrectly or without good judgment, has the potential to complicate the injury. Injured individuals should be treated gradually and steadily. Timing. The sooner patients begin the exercise of the rehabilitation programme, the sooner they can return to full activity. After the injury, rest is sometimes necessary, but too much rest can actually be detrimental to recovery. Compliance. Without a compliant patient, the rehabilitation programme will not be successful. It is important to inform the patient about the content of the programme and the expected course of rehabilitation. Individualization. Each person responds differently to an injury and to the rehabilitation programme. It is important to realize that even though an injury may seem the same in type and severity as another, undetectable differences can change an individual's response to it. Individual physiological and chemical differences affect a patient's specific responses to an injury. Specific sequencing. A therapeutic exercise programme should be determined by the body's physiological healing. Intensity. The intensity level must challenge the patient and the injured area but at the same time must not cause aggravation. Total patient. The cardiovascular system, strength, coordination, and muscle endurance of the uninjured limbs and joints should be kept at a preinjury level. The whole body must be the focus of the rehabilitation programme, not just the injured area.