Occupational Therapy And Physiotherapy therapies are given to people. These therapies are given to people with mental problems, disabilities and injuries; it is done for the betterment of their health.
Both therapies are professionally done for health care, but they both are done in different situations and by different therapists.
Key Takeaways
- Occupational Therapy focuses on helping individuals with daily activities, while Physiotherapy focuses on treating physical conditions or injuries through exercises and other physical methods.
- Occupational Therapy focuses on mental and physical health, while Physiotherapy mainly focuses on physical health.
- Occupational Therapy may involve the use of adaptive equipment or modifications to the environment, while Physiotherapy may involve the use of modalities such as ultrasound or electrical stimulation.
Occupational Therapy vs Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on helping individuals achieve their goals in everyday activities or occupations. Occupational therapists work with people of all ages. Physiotherapy, also known as physical therapy, is a type of therapy that focuses on restoring and improving movement, function, and quality of life.
Occupational therapy develops, recovers, and maintains the movements of the small muscles of the body.
Occupational therapy helps children and adults with disabilities or injuries to regain their composure on their body muscles to be able to do the basic things of daily life. They are given therapy to improve their self-care tasks like brushing teeth, eating.
Physiotherapy is the therapy that recovers and maintains the movements of the large muscles of the human body. It is a therapy that restores health through diagnosis, physical examination, rehabilitation, and physical intervention.
It helps to recover full-body movements like standing, running, sitting, etc. It is day-to-day healthcare that should be provided by health care providers.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Occupational Therapy | Physical Therapy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Occupational therapy develops, recovers, and maintains the movements of the small body muscles. | Physiotherapy is the therapy that recovers and maintains the movements of the large body muscles. |
| Focus | Occupational therapy focuses on fine motor skills. | Physiotherapy focuses on gross motor skills. |
| Aim | To restore functional abilities and self-care skills. | To restore movement/ mobility of the full body. |
| Who needs it? | Patients with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndromes, etc. | Patients with a fracture, an injury and long-term health problems, etc |
| Tools | Exercise, practice, medication etc. | Exercise, Stimulations, massages, stretching, etc. |
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a professional healthcare facility provides by certified doctors. A doctor who is specialized in occupational therapy is known as an Occupational Therapist.
Indeed, these therapists are also known as masters of activity analysis and adaptation. Occupational therapy is provided to people with mental health problems, impairments, disabilities, and injuries.
Occupational therapy recovers and re-develops the fine motor skills in a person. Fine motor skills are the skills or movements of the small muscles of the human body. These skills being, eating, brushing, opening a box, getting dressed, writing, drawing, typing, using things like a cello tape or a scissor, tying shoelaces, etc.
Occupational therapy is given to help a person regain their coordination skills, cognitive skills, Hand-eye coordination, body awareness, posture control, and balance.
Treatment is given by creating treatments based upon the patient’s interests and needs.
This therapy is given to both children and adults to help children with disabilities to participate fully in school and help adults being coordinative with their physical and cognitive skills
The therapy is practiced all around the world. There is a world federation of occupational therapists. The therapy is seen in use to treat people from c. 100 BCE by greek physicians using massages, bath, exercise, and music as treatment and therapy.
What is Physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is the healthcare profession of redeveloping and regaining the full-body movements of the human body. Physiotherapy is also called physical therapy.
Certified doctors with specializations in physical therapy are known as physiotherapists.
Physical therapy is done to maintain or restore health through physical examination, physical intervention, rehabilitation, patient education, disease prevention, and diagnosis as well. Sometimes, with a record of the patient’s medical record, medication is also given in physical therapy.
Physical therapy focuses on the large muscles of the human body, which are responsible for full-body movements like walking, running, etc.
The aim of physical therapy is to on the gross motor skills of an individual and to increase mobility and function. The therapy is started by giving medication and exercises to relieve pain and swelling.
And then, the therapy is given to help the patient with flexibility, strength, endurance, coordination, and balance. It includes exercises, massages, manual therapy, and stimulation of heat, cold, water, or electricity.
Physical therapy focuses on a specific part of the body that is disabled after an injury and fracture or long-term health problems like back pain, multiple sclerosis, spinal stenosis, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Physical therapy was first seen to be practised in the age of Pericles by the Greek physician Hippocrates who is known as the father of medicine.
Main Differences Between Occupational Therapy And Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy focuses on fine motor skills, while physiotherapy focuses on gross motor skills.
- Occupation therapy is to redevelop an individual’s ability to participate in daily-life functional tasks like brushing, eating, etc., while Physiotherapy is to redevelop full-body movements like Running, standing, etc.
- Occupation therapy focuses on the movements of small body muscles, while Physiotherapy focuses on the movement of large body muscles.
- Occupational Therapy helps patients with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndromes, dementia, personality or behavioural disorders, etc. On the other hand, Physical therapy helps patients with a fracture, torn ligament, or an injury and long-term health problems like back pain, etc.
- Occupational therapy focuses on regaining functions of all the body’s small muscles, while Physical therapy focuses on a specific part of the body to regain its movement.
- https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asahp/jah/2006/00000035/00000002/art00008
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/030802269906200406
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13561820220104140
Last Updated : 17 August, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
The descriptions of occupational therapy and physiotherapy are very informative. It’s useful to have a clear understanding of the specific conditions and needs each therapy addresses.
Great article, it provides a clear and concise comparison between occupational therapy and physiotherapy. It’s essential to understand the differences and specializations of each therapy.
I appreciate the detailed explanation of how occupational therapy and physiotherapy are tailored to different physical and mental health needs. It helps to clarify the crucial distinctions between the two.
The historical context provided for both occupational therapy and physiotherapy is intriguing. It’s interesting to learn about the origins and early practices of these therapeutic approaches.
The emphasis on fine motor skills in occupational therapy and gross motor skills in physiotherapy is crucial. This article provides an in-depth understanding of the focus of both therapies.
The comparison table is a helpful visual aid for understanding the differences in focus and aims of occupational therapy and physiotherapy. It provides a quick reference for key distinctions.
The detailed explanation of the role of occupational therapists and physiotherapists in helping individuals with varying needs is enlightening. This article provides valuable insights into the practices of both professions.
The insights provided into the specialized fields of occupational therapy and physiotherapy are valuable. The article presents a thorough understanding of the distinct focus and aims of both therapies.
The detailed explanation of occupational therapy and physiotherapy treatments and tools is extremely helpful in understanding the specific methods used in each therapy. It provides a clear overview of the approaches taken in both practices.
The article effectively emphasizes the specific focus of occupational therapy on fine motor skills and physiotherapy on gross motor skills. It offers a comprehensive understanding of both therapies.