What does an occupational therapist do?

Answer

An Occupational Therapist does similiar type therapy rehabilitation that a Physical Therapist does except that the Occupational Therapist's goal is to help you to become better able to cope with chores and such in everyday situations. Examples would be to help you be able to dress yourself, take a bath or shower, cook, shop, do laundry, etc. Things you did before your injury or illness. These exercises or approaches are different according to your problem. For instance my sister is currently in Pulmonary Rehab. The Occupational Therapist has her do breathing exercises, teaches her energy conservation techniques (when to stop and rest, pursed lip breathing, etc), and she does stretching exercises, and such. Then the Physical Therapist takes over and has her walking on a teadmill, riding a bicycle, and doing a bicycle type exercise but for the arms (upper body). The Physical Therapist exercises are very intense (they push, push, push), but the Occupational Therapist is more layed back and concerned with repetitive motions and has you relax and rest in between exercises. I watch the Occupational Therapist work on other non-pulmonary patients and they are teaching them to grasp objects, do manual manipulation of items; i.e., picking up small objects and moving to another area, tossing a ball back and forth, etc. All these type exercises will help in dealing with everyday issues as I described above; such as, washing clothes, gardening and so forth.

First answer by Getacar. Last edit by Getacar. Contributor trust: 773 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 47 [recommend question]