Occupational therapists and physical therapists may see similar types of patients, but they each have unique skills. Depending your type of injury or pain, your physician will refer you to an occupational therapist (OT), a physical therapist (PT) or both. Physical and occupational therapists are both found in healthcare settings, including hospitals, schools and outpatient clinics.
Generally, physical therapists will help their patients improve physical function, whereas occupational therapists focus on helping people return to the functional tasks they need to perform throughout the day.
“Studies show that our population as a whole is living longer than past generations, and we’re going to have to strive for increased independence in activities of daily living for these individuals,” says Kaitlyn Burke, an occupational therapist at Lake Centre for Rehab’s The Villages Brownwood Clinic, with various locations in Florida. “Even though occupational therapy and physical therapy are separate with some overlap, both are valuable professionals that work as a collaborative team to assist patients,” Burke says.
[READ: How to Prepare for Your First Physical Therapy Session.]
Occupational Therapy vs. Physical Therapy Activities
Occupational therapy activities
Although their name implies “occupation” as in a job, what occupational therapists actually do is help people improve how they can perform activities of daily living
, or ADLs. These may include:
— Eating
— Getting dressed
— Performing chores
— Performing hygiene tasks like brushing your teeth
— Preparing meals
— Taking a bath
— Using a wheelchair or other assistive device
Physical therapy activities
Physical therapists specialize in human movement and function. They can help their patients:
— Improve mobility
— Manage pain and chronic conditions
— Prevent future injuries
[READ: How to Recover From Surgery]
Occupational and Physical Therapists: Where They’re Found
Both occupational and physical therapists can specialize in certain areas. For example, physical therapists may specialize in cardiovascular health, geriatrics, pediatrics, women’s health and other areas. Occupational therapists can specialize in areas like hand therapy, geriatrics and pediatrics.
You can find occupational and physical therapists in a variety of health care and other settings, including:
— Home health
— Hospitals
— Mental health settings
— Private practice
— Schools
[READ: Emergency Room, Urgent Care or Primary Care Physician: Which Should You Pick?]
Occupational Therapy Patients vs. Physical Therapy Patients
Occupational and physical therapists see patients with a wide range of ages and health concerns.
“I personally have seen an eight-week-old and a 101-year-old patient. Both of these stand out as some of my favorite patients to have treated,” says Stephen Clark, a physical therapist and chief clinical officer of Confluent Health, a company composed of occupational and physical therapy businesses around the U.S.
Occupational therapy patients
— Someone is working in a new environment and wants help to set up their workspace ergonomically. This is something that happened a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Karen Jacobs, an occupational therapist and associate dean of Digital Learning and Innovation, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and clinical professor at Boston University’s Department of Occupational Therapy in Boston.
— A person has had a stroke and needs help with ADLs. This could include anything from relearning how to dress themselves to providing aids and assistive devices for bathing or cooking.
— Someone with arthritis needs strategies and adaptive equipment to be more independent. This could mean helping the patient pick out a cane or walker or learning how to cook or grocery shop with the help of that equipment, Jacobs explains.
Physical therapy patients
— Provide physical therapy to a patient in the hospital after a critical illness or surgery. They “may need physical therapy to strengthen muscles, learn strategies to decrease pain during movement and facilitate effective ways to move their bodies to allow them to get in and out of bed and walk around,” says American Physical Therapy Association spokesperson Jennifer Sharp, a board-certified clinical specialist in cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy based in Atlanta.
— Assist someone with an injury to regain mobility and have less pain. Often, physical therapists help people recover from sports-related injuries or pains both by giving them exercises to help with mobility and strength, as well as by using physical modalities like heat or massage.
— Help an older adult increase or maintain their physical function for tasks like rising from a chair or walking. Again, physical therapists will help people regain or maintain strength, including older adults working to retain muscular function.
Physical and occupational therapy combination
Both specialists will frequently help patients who have had:
— Accidents
— Chronic pain
— Overuse injuries
— Surgery
Physical therapists and occupational therapists often work together.
“Our skillsets are very similar, but each has unique opportunities to support the patient in their return to function,” Clark says. “I’ve collaborated with occupational therapists on patients that need specific bracing or orthotics, in returning patients to independence following a stroke, and in managing a long-term illness like ALS or multiple sclerosis. OTs and PTs are a power team of function for our patients.”
Here’s an example from Sharp on how the two specialists may work together: A patient may need help getting to the bathroom and performing any skills involved with using the toilet. The physical therapist may help that patient improve how they walk to get to the bathroom and build their leg strength and increase range of motion, needed for tasks like putting on a pair of pants. The occupational therapist may instruct or provide adaptive equipment to make those tasks easier.
The amount of time that you see an occupational therapist or physical therapist will depend on the reason you’re seeking treatment. Four to eight weeks is a common timeframe, but it could be more or less. Some patients go to therapy once a week, while others will go more frequently.
“In a skilled nursing facility, some patients are seen five days a week to help them get stronger so they can return home following a long hospital stay,” Vooge says.
[Read: At-Home Exercises for Knee Pain.]
“Homework” in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy
Patients may see a physical or occupational therapist for as little as an hour a week (although sometimes more), so that leaves plenty of time to continue practicing what they are learning. That’s why homework, or exercises you do at home, are an important part of both types of therapy.
“When the patient is discharged, they’re often given a home exercise program to maintain the progress they made during therapy and prevent injuries from recurring,” says Jacqui Vooge, an occupational therapist and director of Teton Therapy Cheyenne Clinic in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Home exercises help to reinforce what’s going on during clinic visits and help patients play a significant role in working toward their treatment goals, Jacobs says.
If you don’t have certain equipment at home to complete exercises, your therapist (occupational or physical) can help you find other items you can use or possibly provide the equipment.
Although it’s not physical homework, Jacobs says she will often ask patients to complete an activity time log of what they do at home, so she knows what types of activities they do a lot and are important for them. “Depending on why they’re seeing me, I may ask them to identify when they’re feeling tired or in pain during those routines. That helps me work with them to create a treatment plan,” she says.
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Physical Therapy vs. Occupational Therapy: What’s the Difference? originally appeared on usnews.com
