Managing Motor Skills Following A Stroke With Help From Occupational Therapy Treatments
People normally take for granted that they get up every day and are able to perform their activities of daily living. You expect to get up and wash your face, clean your teeth, step into the shower and bathe yourself among other functions. You could suffer a stroke that robs you of vital motor skills, particularly in your upper limbs. During the course of one day, so many accidents can happen that leave you in a state where you cannot pick up a teacup or even open the refrigerator. That's where occupational therapy treatment plays an important role in teaching you management skills that retrain you to help yourself.
What Is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy, or OT as it is frequently called, offers healing whenever you become unable to effectively use your motor skills. An occupational therapy professional helps return you to roles that helped you so well in the past when you performed activities of daily living. Your occupational therapist's goal is to have you complete your rehabilitation and then go on to leading a productive life.
Life After Suffering A Stroke
If you have suffered a stroke, a physiatrist, who is a rehabilitation medical doctor, will first examine you. If you need occupational therapy treatment, the physiatrist will refer you for OT assessment. You will be given an occupational therapy appointment.
What To Expect On Your First Visit
Strokes in most cases leave people with upper extremity damage. So you will undergo an individual evaluation on your first occupational therapy appointment. A registered and licensed occupational therapist will test you for your upper extremity rehabilitation needs.
Expect that a team of occupational and physical therapists will jointly develop a treatment plan to guide you during your recovery treatment sessions. Depending upon the degree of your upper limb condition, and specifically your arm and hand deficits, your hand, wrist and elbow areas will be tested. The bony curve where your shoulder blades and collarbones meet will also be evaluated.
Techniques And Exercises
Your rehab professional will specifically recommend techniques and exercises to help you recover from muscle losses. The techniques are aimed at reducing spastic jerkiness and associated muscle contractions that often develop. You will undergo quite a bit of stretching exercises, but that's okay. You'll do just fine. Your therapists will give and teach you strengthening exercises that help improve muscle strength in your upper arm, which has been weakened by your stroke injury.
Staying With Your OT Program Offers A Good Life
All in all, your courage in staying with the program of exercises and other treatments offered by your occupational therapists and physical therapists will help you attain a really good life. For more information, contact Kleiser Therapy or a similar location.