Physical Therapy vs. Occupational Therapy
Many people of all ages throughout the world use physical therapy or occupational therapy on a daily basis. Physical therapy is the physical rehabilitation of people recovering from injuries or diseases, while occupational therapy is therapy for those recuperating from physical or mental illnesses that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities required in daily life. However, these people do not know the major similarities and differences between the two services.
While looking into the jobs of physical therapist and occupational therapist, they show very vast differences in job qualities. Physical therapists typically work in private offices and clinics, hospitals, patients'
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A physical therapist has a role to primarily improve a client's ability to perform movements of the human body. During this time, PTs test and measure a patient's strength, functional capacity, and motor development. PTs look after each individual for a period of time depending on the patient's diagnosis and then develop a plan of treatment techniques to advocate the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. (FAQ). As for an occupational therapist, his or her role is to improve a client's ability to perform activities of daily living. Like PTs, OTs evaluate the condition of their patients and determine their needs. During the evaluation, OTs may have to inspect a client's home, work, school, etc. to determine the proper skills that they need to develop so the patient can engage in their own life. Following the evaluation, a plan of treatment to enforce the necessary help for the patient to help him or her return to school, work, home, or just everyday life. Many times, the treatment is to modify the environment in their work or home to create a better quality of life. Throughout these treatment plans, both services not only educate their patients on how to prevent and avoid injuries, but also about the healing processes. Also, OTs and PTs assist people with improving their ability to perform daily activities with training and education, along with hands-on rehabilitation care to help heal injuries and/or care for the patient's disability (Scholastica). Although these roles are different, both PTs and OTs allow patients to return back to their
According to the United States Department of Labor they explain that, “Occupational therapists treat patients with illnesses, Injuries, and disabilities through therapeutic use of everyday activities. Occupational therapist help patients recover, improve, and develop the skills
“Physical therapists typically work in private offices , and clincs , hospitals , and nursing homes. They spend much
Physical Therapists (PT) usually work in private offices. Other places that you might see a physical therapist are clinics, hospitals, patient’s homes, and nursing homes. They usually spend most of their time on their feet, working actively with their patients. To be able to stay on their feet all day physical therapists must be physically fit, some physical therapists even do the same exercises as their patients to maintain a fit body.
After a person reads this article, I can highlight some of the main points in the article to give them a better understanding of what is occupational therapy is in the psychosocial aspect. It is important for me to keep this article on hand because if someone wants to look up what I do and they do not know where to begin, I can give them this article to read to get a basic understanding of what I do and they can get an idea of what to research. This article is not only for clients and client’s friends and family, but it can be used for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistances. This article can be used as a refresher for a therapist if they are having a hard time remembering something about this
Townsend & Polatajko (2007) state that “Occupational therapy is the art and science of enabling engagement in everyday living, through occupation; of enabling people to perform the occupations that foster health and well-being; and of enabling a just and inclusive society so that all people may participate to their potential in the daily occupations of life”.
Occupational therapy has a multifaceted nature providing endless opportunities to serve a wide range of people within many environments, which is just one of the reasons I love this occupation. My long term goals enlist the desire to maximize my knowledge and abilities to care and supplement the lives of anyone that may cross my path in this career. I have seen occupational therapy positively impact the lives of people around me, and I strive to be a bigger role on the team helping make that happen.
Physical therapy has been around since 460 BC (History of Physical Therapy). Yet, many people do not actually know what physical therapy is and how it benefits people with various injuries and surgeries. Many physical therapists personalize in different therapeutic practices including orthopedic, post-operative care, cardiovascular, neurologic, rehabilitation, or pulmonary rehab to specialize in the various needs of people. Physical therapy is more beneficial than chiropractors because it improves your mobility, prevents injuries, avoid surgery or recover more quickly from surgery, and the healing process is more natural and can help reduce pain.
Although I would enjoy helping patients with physical disabilities, I feel like I would face multiple challenges working as an occupational therapist. One field of occupational therapy that I can see myself doing well in is acute care. Acute care requires knowledge of disease processes, medical interventions, and how to properly evaluate a patient. As a nursing student, I feel like these are areas that I have experience with and would excel
Occupational therapy made its first appearance in a modern-day setting during the 18th century; however, occupational therapy dates back to 100 BC. The United States medical system adopted occupational therapy in the 19th century. In 1910, occupational therapy became a realized profession. Then, the main focus was working with individuals to get them to a fully functional state. Around 1930, standards of practice were developed for occupational therapists (OT’s). The career continues to evolve and change as new illnesses and disabilities arise. Even with all the changes, the main focus remains intact: helping people.
An occupational therapist becomes trained and licensed in the healthcare profession and obtains the credentials to make a complete assessment of the impact of an injury that is causing the activities of the patient at home and in work situations
They help them improve their movement and if necessary, help with the pain. “They are an important part of rehabilitation and treatment of patients with chronic conditions or injuries.” They spend a lot of time on their feet, actively working with patients. The following are some of the things that physical therapist typically do: diagnose patients by watching them stand or walk, they set up a plan for their patients, use exercises to help relieve them from any pain, evaluate the patient's progress and they educate their families about the problem. The work of a physical therapist varies on the the type of injury they are working with. For example, a patient that lost mobility due to Parkinson’s disease needs different type of attention as to an athlete recovering from a sprained ankle. This field has five areas: Orthopedic Physical Therapists which mainly focus o the function of the musculoskeletal system as well as sport injuries. Geriatric Physical Therapist are therapist that focus on older adults and work with conditions such as arthritis, cancer, joint replacement, balance disorders, etc. Neurological Physical Therapist focus on neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury, spinal cord injury and strokes. Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapist help people that struggle with cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions like heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary
Occupational therapy is a form of therapy for those recuperating from physical or mental illness that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities required of daily life (O’Brien & Hussey, 2012; American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2014). The goal of OT intervention is to increase the ability of the client to engage in everyday activities, for example, feeding, dressing, bathing, leisure, work, education (O’Brien & Hussey, 2012; & AOTA, 2014).
A physical therapist does a lot of things to help patients get back to what they normally do day to day before an injury. They do this by coming up with plans that helps to reduce pains and help restore movements and make goals for patients. They help by having a hands-on approach and being able to help with exercises and stretches they also massage muscles to help manipulate them to move. They also use different technology to help with anything that deals with the movement or that would restrict movement such as ultrasounds and electrotherapy.
Physical therapy is a fun and exciting healthcare profession that helps people. It is all about helping other people who have problems with their body, muscles, joints and other parts of their body. Patients includes accident victims and individuals with disabling conditions such as low back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy. Physical therapy will perform an evaluation of your problem or difficulty. They evaluate your problem by performing tests and measures to assess the problem. These tests includes muscle strength, joint motion, sensory and neurological, coordination, balance, observation, palpation, flexibility, postural screening, movement analysis, and special tests are designed for a particular problem. Next, they develop a treatment plan and goals and then manage the appropriate treatment to aid in recovery of a problem or dysfunction. Physical therapists are able to treat their patients by using many different treatments depending on the type of injury. Some of the treatments are electrical stimulation, hot and cold packs, infrared and ultrasound to reduce swelling or relieve pain. These treatments are used to help decrease pain and increase movement and function. Therapeutic exercises instructions will help restore strength, movement, balance, or skill as a guide towards full functional recovery. Physical therapy provides "hands on techniques" like massage or joint mobilizations skills to restore joint motion or increase soft tissue flexibility. They will focus on basic skills such as getting out of bed, walking safely with crutches or a walker, moving specific joints and muscles of the body. Physical therapists treatment includes patient education to teach them how to deal with a current problem and how to prevent the problem in the future. Such documentation is used to track the patient's progress, and identify areas requiring more or less attention. They encourage patients to use their own muscles. Their main goal is to improve how an individual functions at work and home.
Physical therapists are health care professionals that provide therapeutic services to their patients who have temporary or chronic physical conditions that were caused from injury or disease. Physical therapist also provided therapeutic services to patients after they have gone through surgery to help them gain back mobility and manage their pain. They can also work in preventive care by promoting healthy life styles and instructing individual patients or groups on preventing injury by using exercises that stretch and strengthen muscles. To help their patients try to recover they use massage techniques, wellness plans, and different types of equipment. When a physical therapist sees a patient for the very first time they must do an examination, evaluation, diagnosis, and then put together a physical intervention to start the rehabilitation process. They also work as a team with other health care professionals to help with their patients needs. Physical therapist can really make a difference in their patient’s lives by not only providing therapeutic services but also encouraging and motivating them so they can get better. The main goals of physical therapist are to help their patients retain or gain back lost physical mobility, eliminate or reduce pain, increase productivity and help promote a healthy life style so patients can have a better quality of life and become more independent.