Occupational therapy is a special subdivide of physiotherapy that helps individuals recover from conditions and injuries that cause obstacles in their lives while performing daily activities, especially if the condition is related to their occupation. Physiotherapy only focuses on the physical aspects of recovery, while occupational therapy provides a holistic approach to rehabilitation, considering the patient’s work environment and daily life schedules.
Imagine the help that is available to you throughout your life after an injury, sickness, or disability. That is what occupational therapy (OT) is all about. This healthcare profession helps individuals of any age to do their everyday activities when they have physical, sensory, or cognitive barriers.
Occupational therapy offers benefits to individuals who do different daily activities by helping them improve their daily lives:
1. Office Workers: Corporate workers tend to sit for prolonged hours at their desks, and they often suffer from posture-related issues. An occupational therapist will effectively address these issues and help them improve their posture and ergonomic settings around them.
2. Manual Labourers: Individuals whose work is very physically demanding tend to be at a higher risk of musculoskeletal problems in the future. Occupational therapy will help them recover and provide information on safe work practices to avoid any future injury.
3. Individuals with Chronic Conditions: People who suffer from chronic conditions like arthritis or frequent strain injury can gain many benefits from occupational therapy, manage their symptoms, and also improve their ability to work.
An Occupational Therapist can work with people of all ages (children to older adults) to develop, regain, or maintain the skills required in daily life. They first assess your abilities and then the challenges you are facing. Accordingly, they will create a personalised treatment plan for your early and optimal recovery. Let’s apply this practically: Consider a child suffering from Autism struggling with social interaction; here, an Occupational therapist might help the child develop certain skills to participate in group activities at school.
Another such example is to imagine someone who has suffered a stroke, and now that individual is facing difficulties in tasks like dressing, bathing, cooking, or shopping. Here, an OT will work with this individual on strategies and techniques to regain independence in the abovementioned activities.
Occupational therapists empower individuals with disabilities by helping them engage in their preferred or necessary daily tasks. Here is what an occupational therapist does:
1. Evaluation/Assessment: They evaluate your abilities and help you with those that need improvement.
2. Goal Setting: Based on the patient’s needs and desires, the OT will set achievable goals for the patient.
3. Treatment Planning: They make a plan that is well-tailored according to the patient's requirements.
4. Environmental Modification: OT will evaluate the workplace and home environment, considering the safety and accessibility of the patient.
5. Assistive Devices: Examples of Assistive devices include walkers and prosthetics, which one’s caregiver should know how to use with the client.
6. Progress Tracking: They track your progress, and the plan is continuously altered if it is necessary to push you forward.
To understand this process better, let’s look at an example- Imagine a man suffering from a diabetic foot. Due to this, he underwent a below-knee amputation on his left leg. He is also a tailor and the sole earning member of his household. Here’s how an occupational therapist would help in this scenario:
1. Firstly, the OT will evaluate the rest of his body parts and the strength of his right foot.
2. Since he used to work as a tailor before the amputation, his goal is to regain the foot movement he had before so he can comfortably work again.
3. Based on his goals, the OT will set a treatment plan accordingly.
4. Environmental modifications, such as ramps, lifts, or safety bars in the restroom, can be temporary or permanent in cases like this.
5. The patient and his caregiver will be provided with basic knowledge on how to use assistive devices like walkers, crutches, or prosthetics.
6. Finally, the OT would track the patient’s progress and come up with gradual progressive rehabilitation plans accordingly.
Occupational therapists are qualified to treat a variety of conditions, including:
1. Chronic Conditions: Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic illnesses which persist for a lifetime.
2. Physical Injuries: Fractures, amputations, burns, etc
3. Developmental Disorders: Autism, cerebral palsy, etc
4. Mental Health Conditions: Depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, etc
5. Aging-Related Issues: Controlling diabetes, high blood pressure, and other comorbidities due to ageing.
Occupational therapists use various techniques in order to meet your objectives, and here are some of them.
1. Therapeutic Exercise: Exercises done to enhance strength, flexibility, and stamina.
2. Splinting: Creating custom splints to support injured or weak limbs, improve hand function, or correct deformities
3. ADL Training: Teaching activities of daily living such as bathing, grooming, and dressing.
4. Ergonomic Assessment: Improving workstation safety and comfort helps prevent injuries.
1. Cognitive Rehabilitation: Exercises to increase memory, attention, and problem-solving abilities.
2. Memory Aids: Exercises and strategies that help people with memory problems.
3. Task Analysis: Dividing tasks into small steps that improve cognitive performance.
4. Time Management: Explaining how to get organised and prioritise your daily tasks.
1. Social Skills Training: Coming up with better communication strategies and interpersonal skills development skills.
2. Group Therapy: Enhancing social skills through interaction among peers.
3. Stress Management: Making use of stress handling techniques in order to bring about relaxation effects.
4. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Addressing your cognitions, emotions, and behaviours so as to improve your mental health.
1. Home Modifications: Modify your homes so they are safe or more accessible in real life.
2, Workplace Modifications: Adjustments made to the work environment to suit individual needs.
3. Assistive Technology: Devices used for the independence and confidence of the patient.
Other Approaches
4. Performance Analysis: Breaking down activities into steps to identify the key areas for improvement.
5. Activities based on occupation: Promoting involvement and acquisition of skills through meaningful activities.
6. Client-Centric Methodology: Focusing on your goals and priorities throughout the therapy process.
There are several benefits of occupational therapy, including:
1. Increased Independence: Enables you to do daily tasks more efficiently and confidently.
2. Better Physical Ability: Improves strength, balance, coordination, and mobility.
3. Enhanced Mental Wellbeing: Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.
4. Improved Social Participation: Facilitating social interaction and community engagement skills.
5. Pain Management: Developing strategies to cope with pain and improve function.
6. Secondary Prevention: Lowers injury or illness risk associated with the medical condition.
Occupational therapy is a vital healthcare profession that helps people live their best lives, regardless of the challenges they face. With a focus on the specific needs of a patient’s job, occupational therapy empowers individuals to remain injury-free and maintain overall daily life functioning. Through personalised assessments, treatment plans, and a variety of techniques, occupational therapists empower individuals to regain independence, improve their physical and mental health, and enhance their overall quality of life.
Granimals is a one-stop solution to all your recovery needs; book your rehab consultation today to recover holistically and stay pain-free!
Q1. How is physiotherapy different from occupational therapy?
Answer: Physiotherapy helps individuals move better in their daily lives, whereas occupational therapy helps them improve their daily functioning.
Q2. What is the main role of occupational therapy?
Answer: The main role of occupational therapy is to help an individual who finds it hard to do daily life activities.
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