What is Occupational Therapy?

 

What is occupational therapy? You might have heard of it but don?t really know what it means. Occupational therapy is, most simply, a way of helping people of all ages improve their lives across the board. Whether it?s helping young children become full participants at school, assisting someone in recovery from an illness or in managing chronic pain, helping a person learn to live with a new cognitive or physical challenge, or strategizing and motivating people to make the most of their gastric surgery, an occupational therapist is a specialist in people. Read on for some examples of what occupational therapy can do.

Bariatric Surgery and Recovery

About one in every three Americans is currently considered obese: a term that means a person weighs at least 20% more than is healthy given their height. Obesity is hard on the entire body, and even losing 5% to 10% of body weight will help an overweight or obese person lower the chance of developing heart disease. Many people are trying to lose weight, but there?s no denying it can be very difficult. Occupational therapy can often be the answer, providing personal motivation and care, doctor supervised weight loss strategies, and help preparing for, managing, and thriving after gastric bypass surgery or other bariatric interventions.

Chronic Pain Management

A lot of people are living with chronic pain in the United States, and nearly 60% say that it definitely impacts their ability to enjoy life. Low back pain alone is a real issue. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that 80% of adults will have low back pain at some time. It can be difficult to manage life with this kind of pain, and occupational therapy is a great way of getting help. Therapists are skilled at evaluating all the physical and mental issues at play, and developing strategies to help pain sufferers cope and then thrive, despite their challenges.

Dealing with Cancer

Cancer is an enormous challenge, and occupational therapy is one of the ways to meet and overcome those challenges. While much of the medical care for cancer sufferers very rightly focuses on beating the cancer itself, the methods required to do so are often hard on sufferers in other ways. Survivors can need help learning to manage their life post-cancer, and even those who are still struggling can benefit from lymphedema management and palliative care strategies that can better quality of life and sometimes even extend it.

There?s a lot more than occupational therapy can do, but these are just a few areas where an occupational therapist can provide important, but sometimes neglected, help for those struggling to overcome physical and mental challenges and live their life to the fullest.