Exploring the Difference Between Physical and Occupational Therapy

For many Manchester area residents, home health care services mainly center around getting a visit from a nurse a few times a week. But the truth is that agencies and companies such as Above and Beyond Home Health Care can provide a wide variety of services to suit everyone’s needs, including physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Clients, family members, and caregivers can select from a variety of customized treatment options for a certain health condition or conditions. A recommendation/suggestion from a health care provider can also be considered.

Then, the Above & Beyond team works to connect available therapists or other professionals on staff to the proper patient so the healing and general wellness efforts can begin.

Unlike some agencies that contract with various independent medical professionals and therapists as needed based on current caseloads and availability, all the Above and Beyond therapists work directly for the company so they’re easy to connect with when someone needs more information or to schedule a visit or interview.

Above and Beyond is proud is provide caring, compassionate and well-trained employees to work with patients in Eastern Iowa and help them with their health needs and challenges. We’ve been doing so since 2004, and are excited to continue doing so into the future.

For those seeking these types of therapies or other types of specialty care, here’s additional information:

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy can help rebuild any lost skills due to mental or physical injuries, so they can return to a normal, independent life. This can include addressing factors like mobility, such as if someone has recently undergone hip replacement surgery.

Seniors interested in being able to resume their lives, such as go on walks, visit friends, go to the golf course can benefit greatly from occupational therapy. Even some basic daily living tasks, such as dressing and eating, might have to be re-mastered.

In the event of lost skills, such as a stroke that claimed someone’s mental and physical function, an occupational therapist can help recover, rebuild or re-adapt.

Therapy may start at a recovery hospital, but then the patient may be able to come home and start working with various therapists.

An occupational therapist can customize their plan based on the patient’s condition, what they want to accomplish and what time frame exists. Efforts can include:

• Assistance with bathing and dressing if needed
• Education on ways to reduce falls, especially if someone’s mobility and balance have changed due to the change in health.
• Massage therapy can help with conditions such as lymphedema.
• Basic exercise, mental and physical.
• A walk-through of a patient’s home to identify potential hazards or different routes/needs.
• Familiarity with any new equipment or assistive tools, like a cane or walker. Even though many seniors are retired from a traditional occupation, assistance from an occupational therapist can help them focus better on the ‘job’ of getting around and enjoying life.

Physical therapy

While physical therapy has similar general goals as occupational therapy of helping someone build up their skills, physical therapy is more about improving general health and mobility.

Physical therapists focus on helping people regain any lost or limited abilities or skills, build up strength, or find ways to reduce pain.

Every age group or health condition can benefit from physical therapy. Seniors may especially benefit from it after an illness or injury, where there may be muscle pain or weaker muscles.

Physical therapists employed by Above and Beyond will be happy to visit patients, put customized treatment plans together for them and help them make sure these exercises are carried out and achieve intended results.

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, physical therapy can lead to all sorts of benefits. For one thing, reducing pain can help improve quality of life.

The APTA said that it can also be an effective way to help the body heal, vs. other expensive and painful options like surgery or medication.

Many physical therapists focus on areas that receive a lot of stress and chronic pain on a regular basis, including the neck, the knees, the shoulder, lower back, and head. Their pain is reduced and ability to use these joints, muscles, and other body parts increases.

Better options

The improvements in quality of life that physical therapy and occupational therapy can both present can be dramatic.

For instance, someone with new pain, or even older pain that flared up years later, is less inclined to go out and be active. This could lead to further physical decline as they sit in their house, and then further emotional decline.

Likewise, someone in good health who is injured or has suffered some sort of disabling health condition, such as a fall or a car accident, may not want to go outside and chance that it could happen again. Or they’re not sure how to cope with injuries from this accident and the rest of their life can suffer.

Representatives from Above and Beyond Home Health Care will be happy to meet with any Manchester patients, caregivers and family members to assess what course of treatment can be most useful. Other specialists could always be available as needed, including speech therapy and massage therapy.

F or more information, visit Above and Beyond Home Health Care.