Physical Therapists (PTs) and Occupational Therapists (OTs) play an important role in stroke recovery. They are with the stroke patient from the very first 24 hours of stroke recovery to the very moment the patient is ready to go back into the real world.

PTs and OTs work as a team together with the caregiver and the stroke patient’s family for the rehabilitation of the stroke patient. It’s a must then, to cooperate effectively, for family members to know the exact role of PTs and OTs in their loved one’s recovery.

Generally speaking, PTs and OTs evaluate the stroke patient’s abilities and limitations throughout the rehabilitation process, which involves the acute, subacute, and chronic phase. PTs mainly help the stroke survivor regain movement or the ability to move the paralyzed part of the body that suffered stroke. They set up the goals of treatment with patient and family, train on the use of special equipment, instructs daily routine functions, educates safety movements, and teaches an exercise program.

OTs, on the other hand, have a wider role because they have a holistic approach to therapy. Their work entails empowering the patient to do activities of daily living (ADL) to social behavior adjustment, including managing stress.

OTs and PTs have the common goal of making the patient regain as much functionality as possible or become less affected by the gravity of stroke and should be started as early as possible after the accident. They help the patient become as “normal” as possible to what they were before the stroke. OTs already begin work by evaluating overall cognition, basic ADLs, and functional mobility. PTs, during this time, assess gait quality, transfers and strength.

OTs and PTs during the acute or post-acute stages aim to maximize patient learning through interdisciplinary collaboration with other professionals. Strength and endurance training are their common concerns along with the development of strategies to improve the patient’s safety awareness, problem solving, attention, insight, memory, and orientation.

Specifically, the PT busies the patient with trainings on wheelchair use, balance, and gait. The OT oversees the patient completing ADLs, scapular mobility, visual retraining, exercises and addressing psychosocial issues. The patient moves to the chronic phase once he/she is released from the rehabilitation facility or from the rehabilitative process.

OTs and PTs then help the patient re-entry into the real world once the chronic phase begins. Therapy now involves cognitive remediation programs, driving assessment or evaluation, and re-integration into the workforce, among others.

With the extent of responsibilities OTs and PTs play in the recovery of the patient, it is just but right for family members and caregivers support their goals in each phase of the rehabilitation process.

Indeed, OTs and PTs play a key role in stroke recovery. Being able to understand their roles will allow caregivers and family members to work alongside PTs and OTs in helping stroke patients overcome their deficits. Family members and caregivers can also aid the patient’s recovery by ensuring they eat nutritious food and they drink their medication religiously, including taking NeuroAid to speedup recovery.

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Category: Health
Keywords: stroke recovery,survive strokes,help stroke,stroke treatment,stroke patients,stroke medicine,stroke rehab