Occupational therapy (OT) can teach you how to adapt. It can help you perform any kind of task at school, work, or in your home. Following an illness or injury, sometimes you need help to regain the ability to perform daily tasks such as bathing, grooming, meal planning and housekeeping.

The goal of occupational therapy is to improve strength, flexibility, endurance and tolerance. Along the way, your therapist may provide progress assessments and make any adjustments to maximize your success in returning to your normal routines.

Occupational therapists are healthcare professionals who help patients maximize fine motor skills. They work with people who have injuries, illnesses, disabilities, or other conditions that affect their ability to perform the activities of daily living (occupations). Your OT provide may take activities that are meaningful to you and incorporate them into the treatment plan, using them therapeutically to restore function. A therapy session may focus more on functional restoration that may consist of strengthening, performing the task a different way, using adaptive equipment, or modifying the environment to get the job done. This work can help the patient to gain or regain independence, whether they are a child born with developmental delays, a construction worker with a hand injury, or an older adult who has survived a stroke.

What is the difference between Occupational and Physical Therapy?

There is one main difference between occupational and physical therapy: Occupational therapy is used to help or regain patients’ ability to perform everyday activities on their own, while physical therapy is used to help or improve patients’ ability to move their bodies and manage their pain.

Both focus on recovering from injuries, but occupational therapists can also assist patients who have cognitive or developmental disabilities that affect their motor skills, behavior or emotions. For example, if you need help getting dressed or showering, you would go to occupational therapy. If you need help recovering after giving birth or improving movement in a sprained ankle, you would go to physical therapy.

Call 505-426-3952 to schedule an occupational therapy appointment at Alta Vista Regional Hospital.

Physician referral is required.