San Antonio, TX – July, 2019 – If you hear the term “occupational therapy” and thought how would that help your senior live a better-quality life, read on.
Occupational therapists are trained professionals who specialize in helping people live more independent and productive lives. In fact, a large percentage of occupational therapists work with seniors. When a senior is affected by illness, accident, injury, disability, or a mental health condition, occupational therapists can guide them to recovery.
What does an Occupational Therapist do?
Occupational therapists assist seniors overcome physical challenges and help them return to a normal life. They train seniors in self-care skills, such as cooking, eating, dressing and grooming.
Occupational therapy also plays a vital role in helping a senior adjust emotionally and socially after an injury or illness. A big advantage of occupational therapy is that it promotes independence and self-reliance, which is an excellent thing for seniors who wish to age in place.
Occupational therapists are elder care advocates. They work with community groups and local government to ensure measures to help older adults maintain independence.
Are Occupational Therapy (OT) and Physical Therapy (PT) Different?
A senior may be advised to see both an occupational therapist and physical therapist.
Occupation therapy is about carrying out daily activities. Occupational therapists help seniors perform daily functions or “occupations”. OT focuses more on improving life skills and trains people in using adaptive tools that can improve the quality of life.
On the other hand, a physical therapist, works with a person to improve physical mobility. By strengthening tissues, such as muscles and tendons.
Take the example of a senior who has suffered a fracture in the arm. While PT will focus on restoring full mobility of the arm, OT will help the person relearn eating and other daily tasks like brushing hair. Both OT and PT complement each other.
In case of an injured or disabled senior, working on physical recovery as well as successful aging-in-place and injury prevention are equally important.
How can an OT help a senior age-in-place?
OT utilizes many activities and therapies to help seniors perform general activities of daily living (ADLs), such as household tasks and personal care that will help them age in place, as long as possible.
This may include –
• Education
• Exercise
• Rehabilitation techniques
All these encourage the senior to re-learn fine motor skills and improve basic motor skills, strength, and dexterity.
OT can also help clients cope with permanent loss of function. For example, the occupational therapist may help a person with dementia to make lists and use other aids to be able to recall.
If you are looking for the best Occupational Therapy and Wound Care Treatment in San Antonio, call Home Nursing and Therapy Services at 210.822.8807 Today. With a mission to be the highest quality San Antonio primary home care agency, HNTS offers caregivers for multiple needs and ensure you and your loved ones lead a healthy and meaningful life through our nursing and therapy services.
