Rehabilitation for persons with musculoskeletal disorders
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Rehabilitation for persons with musculoskeletal disorders (Tules rehabilitation) is intended for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with a musculoskeletal disorder. Rehabilitation is offered both fully remotely and in the form of in-person group rehabilitation. The group meets on the service provider’s premises.
The rehabilitation course is free of charge.
In-person Tules rehabilitation course
Tules rehabilitation is suited for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with a back condition or a musculoskeletal disorder affecting the neck, shoulders or upper or lower limbs. This rehabilitation is suited for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with a musculoskeletal disorder and
- whose symptoms have lasted for over 3 months and who have not received enough help from physiotherapy or self-rehabilitation
- whose condition makes it difficult for them to work or study or otherwise function in their daily lives
- who have enough functional capacity to be able to move around on the service provider’s premises without assistance and to participate fully in the rehabilitation
- who are motivated to improve their functional capacity and to change their habits.
Rehabilitation is offered to persons in working life in 3 groups:
- persons with a musculoskeletal disorder affecting the neck, shoulders or upper limbs
- persons with a back condition
- persons with a musculoskeletal disorder affecting the lower limbs.
Rehabilitation is offered to persons who are not in working life in 2 groups:
- persons under 68
- persons over 68.
This rehabilitation course is not suited for persons
- who need rehabilitation for follow-up care after treatment provided within the healthcare system or after being discharged from inpatient care
- for whom group rehabilitation is not a good option
- who have an acute or untreated substance abuse problem.
Rehabilitation will help you recover from your condition and regain agency. The aim of this rehabilitation course is to
- teach you ways to understand and manage the challenges and practical difficulties caused by your condition
- support your self-rehabilitation, which means rehabilitation you do yourself in your daily life
- give you more resources and better capabilities to manage your daily life and participate in society.
The rehabilitation course also offers you the opportunity to get support from your peers and share your experiences with others.
Each rehabilitation course lasts for 13 days, and it is divided into 3 rehabilitation periods (5 days + 5 days + 3 days). You can stay overnight at the rehabilitation facility or travel there from home each day.
The facility offers accommodation in two-person rooms (double rooms). If you want to stay in a single room, you can ask the service provider if they have single rooms available. You have to pay the extra costs of staying in a single room yourself.
During the rehabilitation course, you will, for example, work in small groups, participate in group discussions and have one-on-one meetings with rehabilitation experts. The rehabilitation needs and goals of each participant are taken into account.
The service provider will contact you before the rehabilitation course begins, after the first rehabilitation period is over and after you have completed both rehabilitation periods.
The rehabilitation course is offered separately in Finnish and Swedish. The course is offered in Finnish to Sámi-speaking customers. They can be assigned an interpreter if necessary.
More information on Tules rehabilitation for Sámi-speakers:
Fully remote Tules rehabilitation course
The fully remote Tules rehabilitation course is suited for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with a musculoskeletal disorder and
- whose symptoms have lasted for over 3 months and who have not received enough help from physiotherapy or self-rehabilitation
- whose condition makes it difficult for them to work or study or manage in their daily lives
- who are working, about to return to work, studying or being paid rehabilitation subsidy (kuntoutustuki)
- who are motivated to change their habits and to improve their capacity for work or study or their functional capacity
- who want to participate in remote rehabilitation because it is easy to incorporate into their daily lives
- who have enough functional capacity to be able to participate in remote rehabilitation.
This rehabilitation course is not suited for persons
- who need rehabilitation for follow-up care after treatment provided within the healthcare system or after being discharged from inpatient care
- for whom group rehabilitation is not a good option
- who have an acute or untreated substance abuse problem
- who need a foreign-language interpreter to communicate.
Rehabilitation will help you recover from your condition and regain agency. The aim of this rehabilitation course is to
- teach you ways to understand and manage the challenges and practical difficulties caused by your condition
- support your self-rehabilitation, which means rehabilitation you do yourself in your daily life
- give you more resources and better capabilities to manage your daily life and participate in society.
The rehabilitation course also offers you the opportunity to get support from your peers and share your experiences with others.
The rehabilitation course is fully remote. You will get all the guidance you need to participate in remote rehabilitation. Remote rehabilitation consists of online rehabilitation and video calls. You do not need to have special computer skills to participate in remote rehabilitation
The rehabilitation includes
- an individual guidance session on how to participate in remote rehabilitation in the form of a video call
- an individual introductory video call
- online rehabilitation you can do at a time suitable to you
- 6 individual video calls with experts
- 8 remote group rehabilitation sessions to give you guidance and peer support.
You can do the tasks assigned during online rehabilitation at your own pace. Professionals will give you guidance during the online rehabilitation and give you feedback on completed tasks.
The individual video calls last about 45 minutes and the remote group rehabilitation sessions at least 4 hours.
The rehabilitation needs and goals of each participant are taken into account.
The service provider will contact you before and after the remote rehabilitation course.
Remote Tules rehabilitation courses are offered only in Finnish. Rehabilitation courses offered in Swedish and those with a Sámi-language interpreter present are organised on the service provider’s premises.
The experts involved in your rehabilitation
The following experts will plan and manage your rehabilitation programme:
- a doctor
- a registered nurse or public health nurse
- a physiotherapist
- a psychologist.
Depending on your individual needs, other rehabilitation professionals may also take part.
How to apply
If you want to apply for remote Tules rehabilitation, you need to submit a medical statement B (B-lausunto) issued by a doctor or a recommendation issued by a physiotherapist on a form for remote Tules rehabilitation (fysioterapeutin suosituslomake tules-etäkuntoutuskurssille) together with your application.
If you want to apply for in-person Tules rehabilitation, you need a medical statement B or some other statement on your health issued by a doctor. For example, you can submit a copy of your medical history (sairauskertomus). The medical statement B or health statement must state which disorder or condition you have that qualifies you for rehabilitation, how well you can function, what kind of rehabilitation is recommended for you and why. The medical statement B or health statement must be dated within the past year.
After you get your medical statement B, health statement or recommendation, do as follows:
- Complete the application form for discretionary rehabilitation KU 132 (PDF, in Finnish).
- Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
- Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
- Tell us in the application which service provider’s rehabilitation you want to participate in. You can use Kela’s rehabilitation course search (in Finnish and Swedish only) to look up service providers. Type tules-kurssi (Tules course) or tules-etäkurssi (remote Tules course) in the search field.
- Save the completed application form on your device. Note that the application must be in PDF format.
- Send the application in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
- Log in to OmaKela and select Tee hakemus (File an application). If you want to apply for rehabilitation on behalf of someone else, go to Asioi toisen henkilön puolesta (Act on behalf of another person). Read more about acting on behalf of another person.
- First select Sairastaminen ja kuntoutus (Sickness and rehabilitation). Then select Kuntoutus – tee hakemus (Rehabilitation – Submit an application). Finally, select Harkinnanvarainen kuntoutus (Discretionary rehabilitation).
- If you send your application to Kela in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
- If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them.
- If you are applying for in-person Tules rehabilitation, send us a copy of your medical statement B or health statement as a supporting document with your application.
- If you are applying for remote Tules rehabilitation, send us a copy of your medical statement B or a recommendation issued by a physiotherapist as a supporting document with your application.
- Visit OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application. We will also send the decision notice to the rehabilitation service provider. This tells the service provider that Kela will pay for your rehabilitation, and the service provider will reserve a place for you on the rehabilitation course.
If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Apply for rehabilitation
Submit your application and supporting documents online.
Let us know if you cannot attend rehabilitation
Remember to tell Kela immediately if you cannot participate in the rehabilitation course. Let us know that you have to cancel by sending a message to us in the OmaKela e-service or by calling our customer service number for rehabilitation clients.
We recommend that you also contact the service provider to let them know you have to cancel.
Check if you can get rehabilitation allowance and travel cost reimbursements
Kela pays rehabilitation allowance to give you financial security during rehabilitation. Kela may also reimburse you for rehabilitation-related travel costs.