Differences Between Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy

Occupational therapy primarily focuses on evaluating and improving a persons functional abilities. An occupational therapist does not directly treat a person's injury but helps a person optimize their independence and ability to accomplish their daily activities following an injury or in situations of physical impairment. Occupational therapy has to do with improving life skills and often involves adaptive tools at times customized by the therapist. An occupational therapist will also often do on-site assessments of both the home environment and work environment and give recommendations on suitable adaptations of each to allow for a better quality of life.

Physical therapy is focused more on treating a persons injury itself and on helping to prevent injuries. The physical therapist will diagnose and treat the physical source of the problem; the injured tissues and structures. A physical therapist is trained extensively on anatomy and themusculoskeletal system resulting in a physical therapist usually being more knowledgeable about musculoskeletal injuries and rehabilitation than a medical doctor.

Although the two health care professions have distinct differences in their focus there can often be some crossover between OT and PT. For example, an occupational therapist is often involved in educating people on how to prevent and avoid injuries, as well as educating people about the healing process. Physical therapists in turn often help people improve their ability to do their daily activities through education and training. While there is this crossover between professions both play very important roles and are more specialized in their areas of expertise. In many situations,health-care professionals from both fields should be involved in injury recovery.