The Unique Ways Occupational Therapy Can Help

Occupational therapy can help a wide variety of people in numerous ways. Patients of all ages seek out occupational therapy to help with their unique needs. Our occupational therapists are trained in many different specialties in order to better treat our patients and cater to their individual needs. Below is a list of 10 ways our occupational therapists can help you. 

1. Provide adaptations to self-care tasks, household chores, and sports in order to be able to maintain independence and partake in social activities

OTs are aware of a variety of adaptive equipment they can recommend in order to make completing tasks easier. 

2. Set- up your workstation to ergonomically fit you in order to prevent overuse injury

OTs will look at the position of your body, your chair, desk height, and computer setup, just to name a few in order to suggest ways to alter your workstation that will be better suited to you. 

3. Provide education on how to safely complete job tasks such as lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying.

OTs are trained in proper lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling techniques in order to prevent injury while at work.

4. Complete functional capacity evaluations in order to better guide employees in their ability to return to work.

FCEs are able to provide employees and employers the likelihood of return to work, ways to alter work tasks, and the employee’s current level of functioning.

5. Complete work conditioning in order to get employees back to work safely.

OTs are able to analyze job demands and provide patients safe ways to complete the tasks and exercises that are appropriate to strengthen in order to return to work.  

6. Evaluate and alter your car seat in order to provide a better ergonomic set up while driving. 

Patients often complain of back or shoulder pain while driving in the care, OTs are able to suggest modifications or equipment in order to provide a better position while driving.

7. Provide education and adaptations to manage arthritis in order to maintain or regain independence

Patients with arthritis often struggle with pain and the ability to manage everyday tasks, OTs can help educate patients on how to manage and live with arthritis.

8. Provide postoperative treatment in order to return to your prior level of functioning.

OTs are educated in protocols for a variety of postoperative care plans such as rotator cuff repair, shoulder replacement, tendon repairs, clavicle fractures, or wrist fractures just to name a few.

9. Provide conservative management of pain in the upper extremities in order to avoid surgery and return to a pain-free life. 

Occupational therapists specialize in treating the upper extremity, so they are able to help patients with neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand pain return to their prior level of function. 

10. Provide lymphedema treatment in order to help decrease pain and swelling.

OTs are able to specialize in the treatment of patients suffering from lymphedema by helping them decrease swelling and pain. 

If you have any questions for our occupational therapists please reach out to us at Freedom Physical Therapy Services