OT for Y-O-U
How occupational therapy can help patients with chronic pain
Millions of people experience acute or chronic pain every year, and the effects of that pain extend far and wide. While people in pain understandably focus their attention on treating their conditions, it’s important for all to recognize the nonphysical burdens pain places on people as well.
Estimates vary regarding the overall financial burden of chronic pain on health care systems, but numerous studies have suggested the overall costs are in the neighborhood of half a billion dollars every year. A recent report from the National Academy of Medicine estimated that pain costs American society as much as $635 billion every year, a figure that includes both the costs associated with treating pain and the money forfeited to lost productivity.
Chronic pain can be uncomfortable and costly, but there are ways for people to manage the effects of chronic pain and lead active, productive lives. Occupational therapy is one way
for those with chronic pain to combat their condition and improve their quality of life.
What is occupational therapy?
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, occupational therapists and their assistants utilize everyday activities to help those with chronic pain participate in the things they want to do and need to do, including work. Lisa Beasley, an occupational therapist at National Park Medical Center Outpatient Rehab Therapy, added to this definition: “Occupational therapy provides treatment to develop, recover or maintain the living daily and work skills of people with physical or cognitive disorders.”
What can occupational therapists do?
Patients with chronic pain rely on occupational therapists in various ways. Occupational therapists may identify the cause of their patients’ pain, suggesting alternatives to activities or behaviors that aggravate that pain. Such identification may include evaluations of patients’ homes and work environments. Beasley said occupational therapists help by increasing range of motion and strength in upper extremities and improving gross and fine motor skills and functional use of the hands. She added that occupational therapists can provide pain control through various modalities and provide treatment for those who suffer from neurological damage, including strokes.
Occupational therapists also teach methods for decreasing the frequency and duration of painful episodes. This may include adapting environments that tend to trigger pain. For example, if an office environment is identified as the cause of the pain or a primary trigger, occupational therapists can recommend adjustments and equipment to make that environment less conducive to pain. Occupational therapists also teach clients how to use the equipment so their pain decreases while they perform necessary tasks, such as those associated with their jobs.
Beasley added that occupational therapists can use various methods for pain control and other struggles that people with chronic pain may experience.
“OT provides proactive pain control by teaching the patient to use pain-control modalities such as heat or cold,” she said. “Ultrasounds may also be provided at the clinic. OT teaches safe body mechanics and ergonomics to prevent patients from becoming fearful of pain with movement and subsequently avoid certain activities. Ergonomic assessments identify environmental factors that may be contributing to pain problems.”
Beasley also said occupational therapy is useful in patients with neuromuscular problems.
“OT provides neuromuscular re-education with patients who have suffered nerve damage from strokes or other neurological accidents,” she said. “OT also provides muscle-tension reduction to assist with pain control and can provide home exercises to maintain a healthy and pain-free lifestyle.”
Many occupational therapists work in conjunction with other health care professionals who are treating clients. This cooperation can help to determine the ideal course of treatment and may help patients hesitant to treat their conditions with medication and introduce other avenues to overcome their chronic pain.
Chronic pain is a potentially formidable foe that affects millions of people around the globe. To learn more about the role occupational therapists can play in combating painful conditions, people with chronic pain can visit www.aota.org.