Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy

What is Physiotherapy (PT)?
Physiotherapists work with clients of all ages and with a wide range of health conditions. Whether it’s pain management and rehabilitation from an acute injury like a sprained ankle, or management of chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, physiotherapy can help. Consider your Physiotherapist to be a “movement expert” who can improve your quality of life with specific movement dysfunctions.

Your PT may prescribe specific exercises, provide hands-on care or educate you on the affected area of your body. They will work with you to develop an individualized plan of care that will help improve your mobility, regain function, recovery from your injury or surgery and help you understand how to prevent further injuries.

What is an Occupational Therapist (OT)?
Occupational therapists (OTs) offer practical advice and support to help people carry out their daily activities. Occupational Therapists help people to learn new ways of doing things, regain skills and develop new ones, use materials or equipment that makes life easier or they can help to adapt your environment to work better for you. These solutions help you to do as much as you can – safely and effectively – at home, work or in other settings. Your OT will work with you to identify smart goals, design a care plan unique to you and assess you throughout your stay to ensure you are meeting your goals. They may also have an assistant work with you to help you achieve these goals.

Why are they involved in my care?
At STEGH, we have a multi-disciplinary approach and will involve any supports and services that we think will enable your wellness and recovery. If the health care team believes that you have restorative potential and could benefit from therapy, we will ask them to assess you, to determine if you have goals, if you can progress in your recovery and then they will work with you to develop an individualized plan of care. Our goal is to prevent functional decline while you are in the hospital as this will enhance your quality of life after discharge from hospital.

What are the benefits of working with a PT?
Some of the benefits of working with a Physical Therapist include:

• Return to doing activities you enjoy but stopped doing because ofinjury, pain or surgery
• Prevent future pain or injury
• Improvement in physical function or movement
• Improved independence
• Improved quality of life
• Improved mental health and sense of well-being

What are the benefits of working with an OT?
Some of the benefits of working with an Occupational Therapist include:

• Rebuild muscle strength and improve motor skills
• Regain strength
• Achieve the ability to function independently
• Improved quality of life
• Support in readjusting to everyday life
• Regain normal ability after injury or illness
• Improve memory
• Improved mental health
• Improved visual defects
• Improved safety

How often will I have therapy?
Once you have been assessed and your care plan formulated the team will have a discussion with you about the frequency of therapy. The range will depend on things such as the nature of your injury/illness, your weight bearing status, your endurance and tolerance for an intensive program or if you are more suitable for a program that is longer duration with lower intensity. You may not receive therapy every day provided by the therapist but you will also work with the assistants and other staff on progressing your goals and eventually attaining them.

How do I set therapy goals?
You will work with the therapy staff to determine your goals and what you want to achieve prior to discharge. Therapy goals are SMART Goals that are usually attained within a specific time period.

What is a PTA/OTA?
A PTA/OTA is an assistant that works under the direction of the Physiotherapist or the Occupational Therapist once they have completed their assessment, determined your goals and set out a treatment plan. They will work with you, provide information to the therapists on your progress and let them know if you are moving towards attaining your goals. If they have concerns about your progress or a need to revise a goal they may ask the therapist to re-assess you and then provide new or additional goals if you have already achieved all or part of the goals that were initially set with you. The therapy assistants are trained and knowledgeable about rehabilitation and can support you through all stages of recovery.