What Is Occupational Therapy?

15 Feb What Is Occupational Therapy?

Have you recently suffered from an injury or illness that has impacted your ability to complete once easy tasks?  Do you or a loved one have a disability that impairs the ability to perform basic functions? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, our occupational therapist at East End Occupational Therapy can help.  Continue reading to learn more about receiving occupational therapy in Oceanside, and the benefits this service can bring you.

What Is Occupational Therapy In Oceanside?

The main goal of occupational therapy is teaching patients how to adapt to their everyday situations. Our trained occupational therapists will make a full assessment of your condition and come up with therapeutic ways to help you achieve your goals. Some of the most common situations occupational therapy helps with include:

• Children struggling to participate fully in school and other social situations.
• Aiding those suffering from an injury to recover their strength and skills.
• Helping elderly patients deal with the physical and cognitive changes that come with aging.        

Benefits Of Occupational Therapy:

Choosing our team at East End Occupational Therapy to administer occupational therapy will help you reap various benefits. Our occupational therapist will work with you to teach you ways to change your movements, so none of your abilities remain hindered. Examples of activities our occupational therapist will assist you to perform better at include:

• Leisure activities.
• Office work.
• Bathing and getting dressed.
• Eating without the help of others.

Who Can This Form Of Therapy Help?

Occupational therapy is a field that has steadily increased in its need over recent years as anyone who struggles with completing common tasks will benefit from attending sessions. If you’re dealing with any of the below injuries or health conditions, consider reaching out to our team for occupational therapy as these all can have physical ramifications:

• Strokes.
• Arthritis or chronic pain.
• Alzheimer’s
• Cerebral palsy.
• Multiple sclerosis.
• Mental health or behavioral issues.    

What To Expect During Your First Session?

It’s perfectly normal to be a bit nervous about your first session of occupational therapy in Oceanside. To help ease these nerves, our team would like to walk you through what you can expect to take place. The first step of the occupational therapy process will be to make a full assessment of your condition, home, and workplace. Doing so gives our occupational therapist a better idea of the changes that need to be made to better your life. After completing the assessment, our occupational therapist may advise you to start using assistive devices. They will also work closely with your family or caregivers to give everyone the necessary information to help you live complication-free. One of the most important things to remember is that you will play an important role throughout the entirety of the therapy process. Your opinion will always be taken into account, especially at the time of your first session.

East End Occupational Therapy: 

At East End Occupational Therapy, our mission is to provide quality and compassionate care.  When issues with your ability to function and complete everyday tasks begin to arise, occupational therapy can be used to overcome them.  By teaching you new methods for movement, and how to use assistive devices, you’ll be able to improve your functionality to levels you thought would now be impossible.  To learn more about occupational therapy in Oceanside, and how it can help you, be sure to schedule an appointment with us today!  When you choose us for care, you’ll guarantee you’re in the best hands.   

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What is Manual Therapy?

A lot of physical therapy techniques involve the use of machines, exercises, and tools to help relieve pain. Manual Therapy, however, is delivered through the therapist’s hands. With the help of Occupational Therapy in Oceanside, you can find pain relief through Manual Therapy.

How does it work?

Before beginning the therapy sessions, a practitioner usually performs a full assessment of the patient’s problem areas to figure out which manual therapy techniques will work best. Manual therapy uses a range of techniques that all involve skilled hand movements and passive movements to manipulate joints and soft tissue. These techniques include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization. The goal of this technique is to break up inelastic or fibrous muscle tissue and localize areas with high tissue restriction. Soft tissue mobilization consists of applying rhythmic stretching and deep pressure to affected areas to help reduce pain and restore the normal tissue texture.
• Strain-Counterstrain. This is a passive positional procedure which is geared towards correcting abnormal neuromuscular reflexes. These abnormalities can cause pain and tenderness for patients. Strain-counterstrain involves therapists finding tender areas in patients, holding the patients in comfortable therapeutic positions, slowly moving them out of the position and applying stretches. 
• Joint Mobilization. This technique involves loosening up the patient’s restricted joints and increasing their range of motion. This is accomplished by gently moving joints and bones in ways patients cannot move on their own. 
• High Velocity, Low Amplitude Thrusting. This is a more aggressive manual therapy technique, but patients should not be in pain following the treatment. High velocity, low amplitude thrusting restores the gliding motion of joints by taking a joint to its restrictive barrier and thrusting it about 1/8 inch past its restrictive barrier. It does not move the joint beyond its anatomical limit and restores joint movement.
• Muscle Energy Technique. This is designed to elongate shortened muscles, mobilize restricted joints, and relieve pain. It engages the joint restrictive barrier without putting stress on it. Through the muscle energy technique, a practitioner applies a counterforce to the voluntary contraction of a patient’s muscle. Then the practitioner moves the joint to a new barrier where the patient creates another muscle contraction. This is repeated multiple times.
• …and more!

Conditions Treated

Manual therapy is very effective in treating patients who are suffering from conditions including, but not limited to:

• Painful joint mobility
• Lack of joint mobility
• Muscle spasms
• Muscle tension
• Overall joint dysfunction
• Chronic back pain

Benefits

The use of manual therapy allows for a safe, non-invasive approach to pain relief. It is very important to find Occupational Therapy in Oceanside where the healthcare professionals are reliable and experienced so that you are getting the best possible treatment. While some of the techniques listed above may seem painful, patients very rarely report pain after treatment. If anything, their pain levels decrease after continuing the sessions with their therapists.

Occupational Therapy in Oceanside

If you or someone you know is interested in finding Occupational Therapy in Oceanside, East End Occupational Therapy may be the right choice! Here at East End Occupational Therapy, we understand how chronic pain can hold you back from doing what you love. Our dedicated and experienced staff are here for all of your Manual Therapy needs. Visit our website and contact us today to schedule an appointment!

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What Are The Different Kinds Of Occupational Therapy?

On occasion, people who want to complete certain activities or tasks are unable to, as a result of physical or emotional limitations. At East End Occupational Therapy, we do not  want to let these unfortunate limitations prevent you from living your everyday life. That is why we offer occupational therapy for all of our patients who need treatment. To learn more about this medical specialty, and the different types of occupational therapy we offer, continue to read.

Occupational therapy is a service that helps patients gain or regain skills that allow them to complete everyday tasks. The job of an occupational therapist is to teach patients new ways to complete these tasks or to help them relearn the bodily mechanisms that were initially lost. In some cases where movement or physical ability was lost, our occupational therapists may create or prescribe the use of assistive devices to allow patients to maintain independence in their daily lives. Some of the most common activities we can help patients learn to complete include:

• Bathing.
• Getting dressed.
• Eating.
• Moving around freely.
• School or work-related tasks.  

What To Expect

If occupational therapy has been recommended to you or a loved one, but you are unsure of what to expect, the process can be a bit nerve-racking. To help ease any stress, our team would like to lay out what you can expect to take place during your OT session. During your initial visits, our occupational therapists will help determine what goals you are looking to meet. Once these goals are set, sessions are shifted towards education and training. This training can focus on any of the following:

• Mental tasks.
• Strength.
• Balance.
• Coordination.
• Social interaction.

The Different Types Of Occupational Therapy

When it comes to occupational therapy, multiple types will be beneficial to different patients. Understanding what this service can bring will help determine if it is right for you or a loved one. Examples of the different types of occupational therapy that are offered can be found below:

General Occupation Therapy

In its most overarching form, general occupational therapy focuses on helping patients whose functional capabilities are impacted by pain, injury, disability, or illness.  It can help:

• Children complete tasks at school.
• Adults manage their work responsibilities.
• Teach self care skills so people can remain independent.
• Allow patients to participate in sports or remain active.

Patients of all ages can benefit from this form of occupational therapy, as sometimes all they need is a little help to get their lives back on track.     

Pediatric Occupational Therapy

As the name suggests, pediatric occupational therapy focuses on helping children. Several different stimulants could culminate in your child needing OT care, such as any of the following conditions:

• ADHD.
• Developmental disorders.
• Poor vision or hearing.
• School trouble.
• Learning disabilities.

Occupational Therapy For Autism 

Autism is a condition that falls onto a wide spectrum of severity and affects people of all ages. Occupational therapy can be used to help those dealing with this condition. These sessions can take place at school, daycare, or even from their home.

Geriatric Occupational Therapy   

As people age, we tend to lose control of bodily functions slowly. This loss of autonomy can be difficult to deal with, as many people fear they will be unable to remain independent as a result of these developments. Geriatric occupational therapy can help the older generations cope with and manage their new limitations, so they don’t have to give up their right to live happily on their own.   

Occupational Therapy in Oceanside For Mental Health

Occupational therapy for mental health is a continually growing field. Your mental health should always be treated with the utmost importance, and our occupational therapists can help patients learn efficient methods of self-care. Conditions occupational therapy is used for can include the following:

• Panic attacks.
• Depression.
• Schizophrenia.
• Bipolar disorder.

Environmental Modification

One final type of occupational therapy worth mentioning is environmental modification. Occupational therapists who specialize in this field will look around your home, school, or workplace to see if any modifications can be made to make your life easier. This process can include installing the following for your benefit:

• Ramps.
• Wider doors.
• Support bars in restrooms.
• Lower or higher cabinets.

Contact Us

At East End Occupational Therapy in Oceanside, we want all of our patients to be able to live their lives to the fullest. If you or a loved one needs occupational therapy, you can trust that our team will provide the services that you need. For more information on this form of care, don’t hesitate to contact us today.

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Contact us For Occupational Therapy in Oceanside