Although not as popular in the media as Physical Therapy, the demand for Occupational Therapy has risen 24% just in the past year, with numbers expected to continue to rise. While Physical Therapy uses exercises and manual therapy to improve strength and range of motion, Occupational Therapy uses similar exercises and activities to improve functional tasks such as self-care, hobbies, and returning to work. Occupational Therapy (OT) treatment focuses on helping people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disability be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives. OT is especially beneficial for individuals who are experiencing:
- Arthritis: an OT may use splinting to support sore joints or aid in improving the use of the hand or arm. Exercises will be used to increase the ability for daily activities such as to cooking, writing, and dressing.
- Neurological Conditions: including stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis: range of motion, strengthening, and visual perceptual training will be used to improve upper extremity use and activities of daily living with adaptations to the home to improve independence. Strategies used by occupational therapists include activity-based interventions, adaptive techniques, assistive technology, and environmental adaptations.
- Hand Injuries: with custom orthotic fabrication (a.k.a. splinting), an OT can use this to method to help with common hand injuries such as carpal tunnel, trigger finger, lateral/medial epicondylitis, finger fractures, dupuytren, arthritis, and distal radius fracture.
- Developmental Delay: for children with developmental delays, occupational therapy can help improve their motor, cognitive, sensory processing, communication, and play skills. The goal is to enhance their development, minimize the potential for developmental delay, and help families meet the special needs of their infants and toddlers.
- Spinal Injury: Spinal injury rehabilitation will vary from patient to patient. OT’s will help reduce barriers, gain independence, and facilitate rehabilitation.
- Tendonitis: Tendonitis is a temporary condition that can affect the ability to perform the basic activities of our day. An occupational therapist will be able to identify what problems the condition may cause and assist with rehabilitation.
- Functional Rehabilitation: an OT can assess the areas of functional difficulty in day-to-day life to identify focus for rehabilitation. Whether it is bathing, planting, cooking or simply dressing, customized treatment plans ensure that maximum levels of independence are reached across all areas of day-to-day life.
Alliance Orthopedics is proud to present the newest member of our growing team, Occupational Therapist Todd!