What is the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy?
Years ago a friend who was terribly burdened with two parents afflicted with Alzheimer's disease complained that part of their treatment was occupational therapy. "Occupation" to her meant a job and that was not conceivable. It seems we are all much better educated about medical interventions nowadays but I have still been confused about the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy. My PT facility is a big room with large tables to lie on, exercise machines, pulleys and stretchy bands, balls and big stuff. The OT department is sequestered behind a small door and a quick peek reveals only a long table and a couple of chairs with shelves of small items. What if my occupation is a brick mason or a truck driver or a circus trapeze artist? Will occupational therapy get me back to work?
Well, not exactly.
I can't verbalized this as well as it is written on several websites so I am copying and pasting the best explanation I found.
Occupational Therapists (OT) help individuals achieve independence and improve one's ability to perform daily activities and self-care. For example, OT's may help a patient learn to dress themselves, brush their teeth or comb their hair after a stroke or illness that has severely weakened their arms.
Physical therapists (PT) focus on the large motor groups that contribute to walking, reaching, standing and physical activities. They work on strength, balance, range of motion and swelling as well as pain to encourage independence.
One might start out with a physical therapist who will work on improving the large motor skills, then move on to an occupational therapist whose job would be to improve the fine motor skills required to manage the minutiae of life.
While I am in physical therapy to get my arm and shoulder moving and back in the game, I can really appreciate how important the little motions we take for granted are. Getting a spoon of soup to my lips with my left hand is full of danger. Maneuvering a sonicare electric toothbrush around my teeth with the wrong hand without splattering the mirror is a challenge. One handed flossing does not work. Thank goodness for the iPad's ability to anticipate the word I want...it saves me many keystrokes in my current two finger touch technique.
My only hope is that by using my left hand I am improving my right brain.
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