What the Occupational Therapy Team at Abbey Delray South Can Do For Your Well-Being
Care and comfort are essential to independent living at Abbey Delray South. With a variety of amenities and health services available, we strive to provide for all of our residents’ needs. We are dedicated to ensuring they have the essentials to lead a fulfilling, independent life.
For many of our residents, occupational therapy is a path to maintaining their independence. But what is occupational therapy, exactly? We can help you better understand what it is and how it could help you live independently, performing common activities of daily living.
What is occupational therapy?
You’ve probably heard of physical therapy, but maybe not occupational therapy. Is there a difference? Well, both are types of rehabilitative care. Physical therapy is focused on improving your movement, mobility and function, often when recovering from injury, surgery or illness. Occupational therapy shares a similar focus, with an emphasis on the performance of daily tasks. The goal is to make patients comfortable in their home environment and allow them to function independently, carrying out specific day-to-day activities on their own.
Occupational therapy can fulfill your needs when recovering from an injury or surgery, managing pain, or living with a neurological, joint, hand, developmental or psychological condition.
What can an occupational therapist do for you?
Occupational therapy can be used to help people, especially older adults, when a condition or illness impacts their ability to function in everyday life. It is frequently employed for post-surgery rehabilitation, but that is far from its only application. Older adults suffering from arthritis, recovering from a stroke or living with vision impairment can all benefit from occupational therapy, which seeks adaptive methods aimed at achieving the greatest level of independence.
Here are a few specific areas in which occupational therapy can help older adults maximize their current level of function and maintain a sense of independence.
Dementia
Aging can be difficult, and dementia makes the process even more challenging. It is often overwhelming for both the person diagnosed with it and the person caring for them. It is not uncommon for caregivers to feel as if they need to do everything for the person in their care, rather than with them. This is where occupational therapy can help people living with dementia. An occupational therapist’s focus is on the person’s remaining abilities rather than disabilities. They can develop a program designed specifically for the affected person’s cognitive levels to allow them to perform meaningful activities of daily life that keep them engaged.
Chronic Pain
Aches and pains are a part of life, but chronic pain can be debilitating, especially for older adults. When you are dealing with chronic pain, it can be attributed to any number of ailments, from arthritis to injuries. Pain that lingers for a long period of time can impact your activities and quality of life. Occupational therapy is a solution to help manage that pain. The goal is to help people with chronic pain learn to live and function productively, redirecting their pain so that it interferes less in their daily lives. This can be accomplished through exercises and activities designed not only to increase their strength and stamina, but also to change their perception of that pain.
Range of Motion
You may not even know it, but range of motion is an important part of your everyday life. It is defined as the extent of movement for each joint in your body, including your hips, knees and shoulders. Maintaining sufficient range of motion in each of your joints allows you to independently perform activities of daily life. When your range of motion is limited or impaired, occupational therapy can help you regain your independence by developing adaptive strategies and modifications to help improve your mobility for improved functioning in everyday life.
Meet your occupational therapy team
Don’t be shy! The occupational therapy team here at Abbey Delray South is here to serve your needs. It can sometimes be difficult to work up the courage to ask for help, but know that asking for help does not mean giving up your independence. On the contrary, our goal is to help you live independently. If you have a condition or illness that is preventing you from living your life, our occupational therapy team can help you get back to living an active and engaged lifestyle.
If you’d like to get more information on Abbey Delray South Health Services or about our community, fill out the form below or call us at 561-272-9600.