Benefits of Occupational Therapy in Stroke Rehabilitation
Occupational therapy involves helping a patient relearn day to day activities, consequently enabling the patient to lead a fulfilling and quality life. Being a COTA provides me with the necessary skills and knowledge to help people with sensory, cognitive, and physical disabilities to become independent in their lives. OTs and COTAs adopt a holistic approach of delivering the required care services to the patients by focusing on improving the environment and tasks to fit the patient. OTs and COTAs are part of the multidisciplinary team that delivers care services to patients who need therapy, and they collaborate with other healthcare professionals like physical and speech therapists.
I can specialize in any of the different areas in occupational therapy, including specializing with children, adults, the elderly and/or accident victims and people with mental disabilities (O’Brien & Hussey, 2013). I also have a variety of choices to make when it comes to the setting in which to work, as I can choose to work in hospitals, schools, prisons, and nursing homes, among others. Working as an OT was fueled by a personal experience after my father suffered a severe stroke. He went to therapy and as I accompanied him, I got the chance to see how therapy transformed his life in a period of one month.
In therapy, my father received care from occupational, speech, and physical therapists. This personal experience made me realize the importance of occupational therapy in helping many people. Coupled with the fact that I have always wanted to work in the healthcare field, i had a new found passion for occupational therapy and helping other people. My profession as an OTA gives me the opportunity to help people with need of occupational therapy services in a variety of ways. In addition to being fueled by the personal experience, I also possess the skill of effective collaboration with people, which can be useful in interacting with patients in occupational therapy
Benefits of Occupational therapy in Stroke Rehabilitation
Occupational therapy is particularly essential in stroke rehabilitation. Govender and Kalra (2007) posit that stroke is “the largest single cause of severe physical disability, and rehabilitation to reduce functional deficits in the most effective treatment”. These findings are collaborated by Thompson and Morgan (2013), who indicate that the prevalence of stroke among the older adults continues to be the largest single cause for rehabilitation. Govender and Kalra (2007) also observe that occupational therapists play a fundamental role in rehabilitation of stroke patients, as they are a core component of the multidisciplinary team that provide services to stroke patients.
As a client-centered profession, occupational therapy provides more than physical care to stroke patients, and extends mental care, which is meant to reduce limitations after stroke (Govender & Kalra, 2007). Stroke is a condition that affects various parts of the brain, and depending on which part was affected, the adverse outcome varies from one patient to the other. Occupational therapists may focus on either prefunctional or functional activities activities in helping patients recover from stroke (Smallfield & Karges, 2009). Stroke patients suffer from a variety of limitations, ranging from loss of muscle power to speech deficits. These limitations have the potential to limit the quality of life of the affected patients, and may even limit the ability of the patient to perform simple day to day activities such as feeding and bathing.
Occupational therapy employs purposeful and meaningful patient-centered activities in the domain of mental and physical health. Treatment using occupational therapy rehabilitation is built on the principle that the brain is capable of regaining lost functions after a stroke. Rehabilitation through occupational therapy can be intrinsic, adaptive, or both. The aim of occupational therapy is to recover as many functions as possible after a stroke. Langhorne, Bernhardt & Kwakkel (2011) carried out a study that revealed not only the benefits of occupational therapy, but also the effectiveness of the approach in recovering important functionalities of the brain after a stroke.
The article by Govender and Kalra (2007) was a review of literature, and not a primary research. However, the reviewed literature is relevant to the topic of interest, and it provides essential information regarding the use of occupational therapy in stroke rehabilitation. The review presents us with a variety of perspectives from which the use of occupational therapy in stroke rehabilitation can be analyzed and evaluated. From the analysis, it is evident that occupational therapy plays a significant role in stroke rehabilitation, as it is an effective approach for patients to regain important functionalities of the brain after a stroke.
Conclusion
Stroke has been identified as one of the major causes for disability in the world. Stroke patients lose functionalities such as speech, mobility, and even sensory functionalities. The loss of important functionalities limits the ability of the patients to enjoy life to the fullest. However, there is hope for stroke patients, as the brain, through occupational therapy, can relearn some of the basic activities, consequently improving the quality of life for stroke patients.
This paper analyzed an article by Govender & Kalra (2007), which revealed that occupational therapy plays a critical role in stroke rehabilitation. The information from the article was complemented by other plausible resources to ascertain the validity of the information. This exercise was essential in improving my skills in researching and using available literature from the library.
References
Govender, P., & Kalra, L. (2007). Benefits of occupational therapy in stroke rehabilitation.
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 7(8), 1013-1019.
Langhorne, P., Bernhardt, J., & Kwakkel, G. (2011). Stroke rehabilitation. The Lancet,
377(9778), 1693-1702.
O’Brien, J. C. & Hussey, S. M. (2013). Introduction to occupational therapy. (4th eds).
Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences
Smallfield, S., & Karges, J. (2009). Classification of occupational therapy intervention for
inpatient stroke rehabilitation. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(4),
408-413.
Thompson, S. B., & Morgan, M. (2013). Occupational therapy for stroke rehabilitation.
Berlin: Springer.
