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The importance of occupational therapy for a successful rehabilitation
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According to the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT), the practice is a form of healthcare that helps people cope with any given type of health-related problems occasioned by ailments or accidents and, ideally, aid them in the full recovery of their functions to perform everyday activities. Tasks like:
- Self-care (bathing, cooking, eating, dressing, etc.)
- Productivity (running errands, working, studying)
- Free time activities (hobbies, sports, and such)
If you leave this article with just one thing, we hope is with the clear knowledge that occupational therapy is paramount for a person’s successful rehabilitation. There’s no two ways about it. In this article we’ll discuss all the ways this branch of therapy can help you out, where to find a licensed therapist, give you clear examples of how occupational therapy helps out in every-day activities, and, as an added bonus, we’ll even give you a run-down of how this branch of rehabilitation came into being.
Rehabilitation Occupational Therapy and its function
Occupational Therapy in nutshell is a type of therapy that helps patients improve their living condition by executing mundane, stable and routine activities (or “occupations”) that aim to improve several aspects of their bodily functions. One of the main functions rehabilitation is to help people recover fine motor skills, particularly those who suffered a type of spinal/neurological condition, whether it’s traumatic (caused by an accident) or fueled by pre-existing genetic factors, like ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Alzheimer’s Disease, Cerebral Palsy, Brain Aneurysms, Ataxia, and others.
Another main goal of Occupational Therapy is that it helps people with other impairments. They help in improving sensitive functions (auditive, visual, tactile), as well as social skills. They also increase a person’s awareness of their surroundings, their new existence and reality and give them a coping mechanism by which to face their problem. Studies have shown that a healthy outlook and the feeling of self-sufficiency is paramount to a person’s general well-being and critical well it comes to rehabilitation. Emotional turmoil, mental anguish, and other psychological consequences are as important as the physical impairment.
A brief history on Rehabilitation Occupational Therapy
Greek
Occupational therapy stems back to the glorious days of Greek medical research. The branch was primarily spearheaded by the legendary physicians of the Asclepiades. These doctors strived to improve the quality of life of their contemporaries with the use of baths, massages, and music.
Roman
Other exponents hailing from different origins, like Rome, also did their fair share of research. Celsius, in order to help his Roman countrymen deal with their harsh lifestyle, implemented the art conversation, rigors of exercise, and beauty music to ease the mind and body.
18th Century
We can also find vestiges of Rehabilitation Occupational Therapy during the Age of Enlightenment (circa 18th century). During these experimental years, doctors such as Philippe Pinel and Johann Christian Reil, reformed (and tried to improve) the hospital system. Both men used a rudimentary form of Occupational Therapy which involved rigorous work, and leisure activities.
20th Century and Beyond
The Arts and Crafts movement Era (19th and 20th century) was also a pioneer of this somewhat exotic fanfare. They were instrumental in creating the foundations of what would later be known as Occupational Therapy. Society during those times witnessed the effects of repetitive manual labour. The Industrial Revolution, with its mechanized activities, birthing new hazards and bodily maladies. Remedial aids became a necessity, not only to alleviate psychical pressures but to ease a mind clouded by repetition, boredom and the sheer mundanity of their occupation.