The Benefits of Occupational Therapy 2023
It’s no secret that rehabilitation after an injury or sickness can improve a person’s functional abilities. What matters is what benefits make Occupational Therapy in specific so important and beneficial to a person’s future after a new diagnosis.
Occupational therapists help persons who are having physical or cognitive problems. The purpose of occupational therapy is to make daily tasks more manageable. Unfortunately, few individuals are aware of occupational therapy and how it functions.
Helping to Restore Lost Independence
This is the most important reason why occupational therapy is useful. People desire to look after themselves. They want to do things like bathing, dressing, and toileting with as little help as possible.
Following a change in functional abilities, an Occupational Therapist will practice these skills and provide compensatory approaches (if needed) to increase an individual’s capacity to execute these self-care chores.
Occupational Therapy Helping Pain Management
When one muscle is weak, the opposing muscle might become overly tense, resulting in pain. Compensatory measures, such as lifting the shoulder to keep the arm closer to the body and lessen pain, frequently result in muscular imbalance and, as a result, increased pain.
When adopting compensatory tactics that involve shoulder movement, the pectoralis major muscle in the chest tightens, causing the muscles around the shoulder blade to weaken.
Patients become more educated and aware of how incorrect body alignment leads to the likelihood of greater pain as a result of occupational therapy. Occupational therapists utilize stretching techniques and hand-guided exercises to enhance poor joint movement and discomfort while also increasing the use of an extremity for ADLs.
Improving Mental Health
Occupational therapy can be an essential component of a comprehensive mental health treatment plan. OTs work alongside psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, and families to help their patients get back on their feet.
They will interact with the other healthcare personnel in the program during treatment about how other treatment components influence the client’s capacity to participate in everyday activities.
They might check to see if a drug adjustment is causing more negative effects than intended or if the program is helping the client improve their cognitive ability, focus, and morale.
Enhancing Strength and Mobility
Although traditional exercise and stamina (or activity tolerance) activities are usual in therapy, what truly distinguishes Occupational Therapy is analyzing the movement or cognitive specifications of daily tasks and creatively incorporating activities and exercises that build on the individual’s current capabilities to enhance daily independence.
By providing constant new activities to constantly upgrade, or elevate the physical or cognitive effort of relative tasks, creativity in therapy can improve the overall effectiveness of treatment. It also keeps people engaged and challenged.
Occupational Therapy Acts as A Visual Aid
Vision changes can develop due to eye disease, a brain injury, or a stroke. Blind spots appear in our field of vision due to these alterations. Visual changes might make it difficult for a person to walk comfortably or read.
Visual adaptive techniques like scanning and pre-reading procedures can be taught in occupational therapy to boost reading performance and the entire experience.
Social Inclusion Keeps Patients Interested
Occupational therapists teach people how to do things like caring, time management, stress management, and, most significantly, social inclusion. For persons who cannot carry out fundamental social tasks, occupational support is a critical aspect of mental health recovery and social inclusion.
This involves boosting their self-esteem, getting them involved in social groups, and even preparing them for jobs or training so that they can contribute to society.
Enhancing Cognitive Functions and Memory
Memory loss is an issue that affects most people through time or as a result of an injury or disease. The majority of cases of memory loss are attributed to advanced age. However, an accident, disease, or a lack of nourishment can also be factors.
While the latter can be cured simply by altering one’s diet, the others may necessitate more individualized treatment. Occupational therapy for memory loss comprises brain exercises and tricks that aid with organization, memory, and attention. The following are some examples of common memory aids:
- Marking significant information on a calendar
- Placing everyday items (such as keys) in an area of high visibility
- Using tools to improve daily life (computer, notebooks)
- Using audiobooks as an alternative to reading manually
- Playing memory games
Overall, occupational therapy helps elderly persons in nursing homes enhance their quality of life. All of these advantages feed into one another, resulting in a healthier, more active lifestyle that impacts every aspect of life.
Better physical health is frequently accompanied by improved mental health. A better memory is aided by greater vision. Improved coping mechanisms lead to improved physical health. Better house improvements also provide a greater sense of self-sufficiency.
Safe Hands HHC ensures high-quality occupational therapy services by employing highly certified, knowledgeable, and experienced therapists. Adult occupational therapy services provided by Safe Hands HHC assist patients in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Visit Us: https://safehandshhc.com/services/occupational-therapy/
