Occupational therapy (OT) helps patients do activities of daily living (ADLs). These activities include eating, bathing, dressing, writing, cooking, driving, and work-related tasks, such as typing on a computer and lifting heavy boxes. People who need occupational therapy often have physical, developmental, social, or emotional problems that prevent them from doing these general activities. OT targets the patient's small muscles and fine motor coordination.

When impairments (such as limited joint motion) cannot be improved, the occupational therapist works closely with the patient to develop creative solutions. These include adaptive devices such as tools that grab or reach, orthotics and splints, and learning new ways to carry out a task. A home safety assessment can identify ways to promote independence, such as installing grab bars in the bathroom.

OT can be beneficial for people who have problems caused by:

• burns
  
• cancer
  
• chronic pain
  
• general rehabilitation issues
  
• head and brain injuries
  
• spinal cord injury
  
• stroke
• visual difficulties and sensory deficits
  
• balance disorders (increased risk of falling)
  
• women's rehabilitation problems (such as breast cancer, pain during pregnancy, and incontinence)
  
• debilitation or weakness following major surgery (such as organ transplant)
  
• chronic conditions (such as heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and lung disorders)
  
• geriatric conditions (such as walking difficulties, general weakness, and normal aging due to existing condition complicated by pneumonia)
  
• neurologic disease (including Parkinson's disease, spasticity, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis)
  
• orthopaedic rehabilitation issues (including problems related to amputation, arthritis, fracture care, joint surgery, and sports injuries)
  
• mental illness (such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress)
  
• developmental disabilities
  
• work-related injuries (such as lower back problems or repetitive stress injuries)

Occupational therapy can be especially beneficial for older adults and people confined to wheelchairs. It helps people who have visual difficulties, sensory deficits, or increased risk of falling. Often this treatment can prevent patients from having to be admitted to long-term care facilities and other institutions.

Occupational therapy is provided in a variety of settings: at hospitals, nursing homes, schools, outpatient clinics, fitness facilities, the home environment, and industrial companies. Therapists coordinate treatment plans with other members of a rehabilitation team. This team may include a doctor, nurse, social worker, physical therapist, speech therapist, vocational counselor, psychologist, prosthetist, or orthotist. Such an approach (called multidisciplinary) helps achieve patient goals and individual treatment outcomes as quickly and as effectively as possible.

OT helps people gain independence in all areas of their lives from opening a soup can to driving a car. Therapy targets the patient's small muscles and fine motor coordination. When impairments (such as limited joint motion) cannot be improved, the occupational therapist works closely with the patient to develop creative solutions. These include adaptive devices such as tools that grab or reach, orthotics and splints, and learning a new way to carry out a task. A home safety assessment is another method that can identify ways to promote independence, such as installing grab bars in the bathroom.

Occupational therapy is closely associated with physical therapy. While occupational therapy generally concentrates on activities of daily living, physical therapy (PT) focuses on basic mobility skills such as getting out of bed, walking safely with crutches or a walker, moving specific joints, and strengthening specific muscles. OT and PT often are used together to help a patient regain function

A primary care physician (PCP), family doctor, physiatrist, or specialist — such as a neurologist, rheumatologist, oncologist, geriatrician, or orthopaedist — usually refers patients for physical therapy treatment. Many health insurance companies cover rehab therapy; however, some plans place limits on the number of inpatient days, outpatient visits, the type of therapy, or the condition. Ask your insurance company if you have questions.

As part of treatment and the rehabilitation process, a therapist takes a medical history and evaluates the patient's problem or difficulty. Based on the findings, the therapist develops a treatment plan with specific rehab goals.

During OT treatment, the therapist teaches the patient activities and exercises designed to improve the ability to carry out specific activities. Occupational therapy often includes an evaluation of home and job environments, recommendations and training in the use of adaptive equipment to replace lost function, and teaching family members and caretakers safe methods to care for the patient. In addition to dealing with a patient's physical well-being, occupational therapy practitioners address psychological, social, and environmental factors that may stand in the way of independent functioning in all aspects of life.