Feeling Anxious About Returning to Work? Occupational Therapy Can Help!
Have you recently recovered from COVID-19, a painful injury, or a surgical procedure and are now deciding whether or not it’s time to return to work? Do you want to return to work, but feel like you have no idea where to start?
At Therapy West PT & Sports Medicine, we understand how stressful it can be to take unexpected time off work. Fortunately, our skilled occupational therapists in Gunnison, UT can help you determine if it is the right time to get back in the workplace and support you through the transition it takes to get there.
What do occupational therapists do?
Occupational therapists are extremely helpful and knowledgeable professionals who specialize in assisting people in maintaining their daily routines, finding relief from chronic pain, and learning how to complete tasks more comfortably and easily.
Occupational therapy at Therapy West PT & Sports Medicine is a non-invasive, safe, and effective treatment option for pain caused by a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, sports injuries, and workplace injuries. Patients typically see an occupational therapist to regain daily function, manage chronic pain symptoms, and avoid future injury.
Regular appointments with an occupational therapist are ideal for people of all ages who need guidance or assistance with a variety of conditions! If you need help returning to workplace, seeing an occupational therapist may be the perfect solution for you!
What’s the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy?
Understanding the distinction between physical and occupational therapy is critical because these practice fields provide different benefits to patients.
Physical therapy encompasses a wide range of natural and conservative treatments to alleviate pain and promote healing. You may require physical therapy to help you recover from an injury or from the symptoms of chronic pain.
While occupational therapy is also a conservative treatment, it focuses on rehabilitation and the “relearning” of daily activities. The goal of occupational therapy is to make everyday life easier for patients by having them participate in treatments and exercises. Occupational therapists (OTs) are experts at helping patients find new ways to complete tasks and achieve goals in their daily lives.
What is work conditioning?
Work conditioning is a program that patients can participate in only after their acute or chronic injuries have been managed. This process begins with traditional rehabilitation techniques. Once the rehabilitation is complete and the injury is healed, workplace conditioning can begin. It is considered one of the final steps of the rehabilitation process to prepare someone to return to work.
Before you begin your work conditioning program, you and your occupational therapist will discuss realistic and functional return-to-work goals that you’d like to achieve within a certain time frame. Your occupational therapist will make sure that you are pain-free, as well as restriction-free in your range of motion before creating a work conditioning plan to fit your needs.
Work conditioning is always condition-specific, as it is targeted toward the physically demanding duties of your job. For example, if you work in carpentry and you recently recovered from a shoulder injury that occurred on the job, you may be asked to perform certain tasks such as hammering above your head or lifting weights for a designated amount of time, in order to strengthen the shoulder and condition your body for the work you will have to do once you return.
The main idea of work conditioning is to regain function and increase strength, in order to return to work in a timely manner and prevent any additional injuries from occurring again.
How will work conditioning benefit me?
Work conditioning programs typically focus on five main components for preparing you to return to work:
- Strength
- Flexibility
- Posture
- Aerobic conditioning
- Work stimulation
Your occupational therapist will create a personalized conditioning plan for your specific needs. While all conditioning is different, it is centered around the same goal: returning you to work. Your conditioning plan will consist of specific exercises, stretches, and physical activities that will allow you to achieve your maximum physical ability in each of the main components.
Once you achieve successful progress in each component, you and your occupational therapist will discuss if you are ready to return to work.
Ready to get back to work? Contact Therapy West PT & Sports Medicine today!
At Therapy West PT & Sports Medicine in Gunnison, UT, our occupational therapy plans include an individual evaluation to determine your goals and customized intervention activities to improve your tasks and activities.
Contact us today to request an appointment with an occupational therapist. We can help you begin your journey toward recovery and optimized function through work conditioning.
