Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is an evidence-based treatment deeply rooted in science. It’s a proven therapy that helps improve activities of daily life. Interventions include helping people to recover and regain skills from an injury, helping children with disabilities participate in school and social arenas and helping seniors improve cognitive and physical skills. An occupational plan is all-inclusive and includes:

• An individual evaluation to determine patient goals
• Customized intervention activities to improve daily tasks and activities for the patient
• An outcomes evaluation to determine if goals were met and to make changes to the plan, if needed

This is similar to physical therapy, but there are differences. While physical therapy focuses on the patient’s ability to perform movement of the body, occupational therapy focuses on the patient’s ability to perform daily living activities. For example, a physical therapist will work with a patient who suffered from a stroke to build muscle strength, while an occupational therapist will work with the same patient to practice basic skills like walking, eating, bathing and dressing. These fields overlap.

Overall, occupational therapy goes beyond addressing injuries. It includes the whole person’s functional needs and implements activities to promote psychological well-being. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), in addition to dealing with an individual’s physical well-being, Occupational Therapy practitioners address psychological, social and environmental factors that may hinder an individual’s functioning in different ways.

Our occupational therapist, Gary Fairchild, OTR specializes in hand, wrist and elbow injuries. Our occupational therapist is well trained in custom splinting, joint mobilization and use of modalities such as fluidotherapy.

If you are suffering from a hand, wrist or elbow injury, call New Stride Physical Therapy to schedule an appointment with Gary Fairchild, OTR. The one-on-one care you receive from our occupational therapist will get you back to your hobbies and enjoying life.