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Choosing a Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre in India
Stroke, brain injury or spinal cord recovery decisions often get made in a hurry, comparing names you've only just heard of. Here's what's publicly known about some South India options, realistic cost ranges, and what's actually worth asking before you choose.
Researching rehab centres while a family member is still in hospital is exhausting, and most comparisons online are written by the centres themselves. This page only uses what each centre publicly states, laid out side by side, so you're comparing on the same basis.
What Counts as Neuro-Rehabilitation
Neuro-rehabilitation is the structured therapy phase after a stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, brain or spine surgery, or with progressive conditions like Parkinson's or MS — distinct from the acute hospital treatment itself. It typically combines physiotherapy (strength, balance, mobility), occupational therapy (relearning daily activities), speech and swallow therapy, and cognitive rehabilitation, sometimes alongside robotic-assisted or virtual-reality-based movement training. It can be delivered as an inpatient stay (living at the facility for weeks), as an outpatient course (attending sessions while living elsewhere), or at home.
How Long Does Recovery Actually Take?
Timelines vary hugely by condition, severity, and the individual — but a rough sense of "weeks vs. months vs. years" is genuinely useful for planning: how long someone needs off work, what to budget for, and when to expect a step-down from inpatient to outpatient or home care. These are population-level ranges from published research, not a prediction for any one patient.
| Condition | Typical inpatient / acute phase | Where the bigger gains happen |
|---|---|---|
| Stroke | Rehab often starts within 24–48 hours, still in hospital. An intensive inpatient stay commonly runs 2–3 weeks. | The single biggest window for gains from intensive therapy is around 2–3 months after the stroke. Most people continue some form of rehab for months, and real improvement has been documented as late as 12–18 months out. |
| Traumatic brain injury | For more severe injuries, regaining consciousness can itself take 2–4 weeks or longer. | The fastest recovery gains typically happen in the first 3–6 months, continuing at a slower pace through the first year. Meaningful recovery can keep happening well beyond that — the exception, not the rule to plan around, but worth knowing. |
| Spinal cord injury | Inpatient rehab typically runs 2–5 weeks. | That's usually just the start, not the end — in one tracked group, 44% of the total therapy hours delivered in the first year happened after discharge, so outpatient or home-based therapy commonly continues for months once the inpatient stay ends. |
Severity, age, other health conditions, and how quickly rehab started all shift these ranges substantially. Ask the treating neurologist or rehab physician for a specific expected trajectory for this diagnosis — and revisit the question as things progress, since the honest answer at week 1 is rarely the same as the honest answer at week 6.
Sources: Mayo Clinic — stroke rehabilitation, NIH — critical time window after stroke, TBI recovery timeline, MSKTC — inpatient rehab for spinal cord injury.
Comparing Centres
These are centres that came up researching this specific question — not an exhaustive list, and not a ranking. Each entry reflects only what the centre states about itself publicly; none of this is independently verified for clinical quality.
| Centre | City | Type | What they state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sakra World Hospital | Bengaluru | Hospital-based — houses the dedicated Sakra Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences | Stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, MS, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy; multidisciplinary team. On-site equipment list (seen directly, Sep 2026) is genuinely extensive: robotic-assisted gait and arm training, VR/AR-based therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, dysphagia/swallow therapy, a driving simulation lab, and dedicated fall-risk/balance assessment and prevention equipment, among others. One of the more heavily-equipped options on this list — though equipment breadth alone doesn't tell you about staff ratios, therapy hours per day, or outcomes, so still ask those directly. Also worth knowing if rehab continues at home after discharge: Sakra's own "Sakra Home Healthcare" division (signage seen on-site, Sep 2026) offers nurse-at-home, physiotherapy-at-home and diagnostic-at-home visits, 12/24-hour caregiver placement, and rental of home medical equipment — oxygen concentrators, hospital beds, and CPAP/BiPAP/home ventilators. Confirm current pricing and coverage area directly; ask whether it's a smooth handover from the inpatient team if your parent is already being treated there. |
| Sukino | Bengaluru (multiple locations) & Kochi (Vyttila) | Dedicated post-acute continuum-care provider (not a general hospital) | Specialises in stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's, MS; physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech/swallow therapy, cognitive rehab, psychological support. Same provider operating in both cities you may have heard about. |
| Aster Medcity | Kochi | Large multispecialty hospital, Neurosciences centre of excellence | Broad neurosciences programme within a full hospital setting, rather than a dedicated standalone rehab facility. |
| JSS Hospital | Mysore | Hospital-based, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Centre + Neurology dept. | Local option worth a direct call — worth confirming whether it covers the specific intensity of neuro-rehab needed (e.g. daily inpatient therapy) before assuming a longer trip is necessary. |
| Apollo BGS Hospital | Mysore | Hospital-based, Institute of Neurosciences + Physiotherapy | Another local option to ask directly about rehab-specific (not just acute neurology) capacity. |
On distance: Bengaluru is roughly 150km from Mysore, about a 3-hour drive. Mysore–Kochi is genuinely reported differently by different route calculators — anywhere from around 260km to over 400km depending on the road taken — so it's worth checking an actual mapped route rather than relying on one figure, and Mysore's airport has limited connections, so a Kochi trip likely means a drive or a connection via Bengaluru.
What It's Likely to Cost
Published figures vary a lot and should be treated as a starting point for a conversation, not a quote:
- An insurance-industry cost guide puts average stroke rehabilitation around ₹80,000, rising to roughly ₹1.4 lakh in tier-1 cities (Bengaluru is tier-1) and around ₹65,000 in tier-2 cities (Kochi is classed tier-2 in this source).
- A medical-tourism aggregator lists neuro-rehabilitation packages at roughly ₹1.11–1.48 lakh.
- A Bangalore-specific breakdown suggests inpatient rehab fees of around ₹5,000–10,000 a day (before room and nursing charges), or roughly ₹10,000–30,000 a month for outpatient physiotherapy alone — with total stroke treatment (acute care plus rehab) ranging as widely as ₹2–12 lakh depending on severity and length of stay.
Robotic-assisted or VR-based sessions are typically priced on top of standard therapy rates, not included by default. None of these figures account for family accommodation and travel during a multi-week stay. Get a current, written estimate directly from any centre you're seriously considering — these numbers move, and vary by room category and how long a stay turns out to be.
Insurance and Ayushman Bharat
This is worth checking specifically, not assuming: many private health insurance policies treat an extended rehabilitation stay differently from the acute hospital admission that came before it, sometimes with separate day limits, cost caps, or exclusions for what's classified as "custodial" or long-term rehab care rather than active acute treatment. Ask your insurer directly whether the rehab phase itself — not just the initial hospitalisation — is covered, and get the answer in writing before committing to a centre. If Ayushman Bharat applies in your case, check current package rules for the specific rehab centre and diagnosis, since coverage for extended rehabilitation stays can be more limited than for acute treatment. See our Ayushman Bharat guide and Health Insurance for Parents guide for the general rules.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Choose
Tick these off as you call around — a quick way to compare centres on the same basis rather than on brochure impressions alone.
Every question, written out
All eight questions from the checklist above, in full.
- Is the facility NABH-accredited?
- Is an inpatient bed available now, or is there a waitlist?
- Which therapies are included in the daily rate, and which are billed separately (robotic-assisted gait training, speech/swallow therapy, cognitive rehab)?
- Is this centre in our insurer's cashless network specifically for the rehab phase — not just the earlier acute admission?
- What's the realistic total cost range for the expected length of stay, in writing?
- Is there affordable accommodation nearby for family during a multi-week stay?
- What does a typical week of therapy actually look like — how many hours a day, which therapists?
- What's the plan and criteria for discharge, and for step-down care after that?
- Given this specific diagnosis and severity — not the general average — what's the realistic expected timeline?
This is general information, not a personal recommendation. It reflects publicly stated information about specific centres at the time of writing, not independent verification of clinical outcomes. The treating neurologist or neurosurgeon is best placed to advise on quality and fit for a specific condition — use this page as a starting point for questions, not a substitute for that advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does neuro-rehabilitation cost in India?
Published estimates vary widely and should be treated as rough starting points, not quotes. Insurance-industry cost guides put average stroke rehabilitation around ₹80,000, rising to roughly ₹1.4 lakh in tier-1 cities and around ₹65,000 in tier-2 cities; a medical-tourism aggregator lists neuro-rehabilitation packages at roughly ₹1.11–1.48 lakh. Bangalore-specific breakdowns suggest inpatient rehab fees of around ₹5,000–10,000 a day plus room and nursing charges, or roughly ₹10,000–30,000 a month for outpatient physiotherapy alone. Robotic-assisted or VR-based sessions are usually priced on top of standard therapy, not included by default. Always get a current written estimate from the specific centre before deciding.
Does health insurance or Ayushman Bharat cover neuro-rehabilitation?
It depends heavily on the specific policy and the scheme's current package rules, and can change — this is genuinely worth confirming directly rather than assuming. Many private policies treat extended rehabilitation stays differently from acute hospitalisation, sometimes with separate caps, day limits, or exclusions for "custodial" or long-term rehab care. Ask the insurer specifically whether the rehab phase (not just the acute admission) is covered, and get it in writing before committing to a centre.
Is it better to choose a centre closer to home or a bigger name further away?
There's no single right answer — it depends on whether a nearer hospital can actually deliver the specific therapy intensity needed (for example, daily physio plus speech and swallow therapy for several weeks). A shorter, well-supported course close to home can be better for a recovering patient and an exhausted family than a longer journey to a bigger name, provided the local centre can genuinely meet the clinical need. It's worth asking the treating neurologist directly whether the local option is adequate before assuming a bigger city is automatically better.
What should I ask a neuro-rehab centre before choosing it?
Useful questions include: is the facility NABH-accredited; is an inpatient bed available now or is there a waitlist; which specific therapies are included in the daily rate versus billed separately (robotic-assisted gait training, speech and swallow therapy, cognitive rehab); is the hospital in your insurer's cashless network for the rehab phase specifically; and is there affordable accommodation nearby for family staying during a multi-week stay.
Where to Go Next
Once rehab moves home — equipment rent vs. buy, home physio costs, from-abroad coordination.
The full hour-by-hour guide for managing it from afar.
What's typically covered, and the traps to check for.
If the rehab is following spine or neck surgery specifically.