|
     
|
Hours |
|
Mon - Fri 8am - 6 pm
|
|
Ph 5443
6634 |
| Other times
possible by prior appointment |
| |
What is Occupational Therapy (O.T.)?
Occupational therapy is a profession concerned
with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of
occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of
everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by enabling people
to do things that will enhance their ability to participate or by modifying the
environment to better support participation.
Occupational therapy is a health profession,
which provides evaluation, consultation and treatment for those people with
physical, psychological and neurological dysfunction. Occupational therapy aims
to assist individuals to reach and maintain their highest level of functioning.
Coastal Physiotherapy primarily offers vocational rehabilitation. Occupational
therapists facilitate improvement in occupational performance by treatment of
worker limitations, education and modification of the work environment.
Occupational therapists can work with people who experience:
- Back or neck pain
- Occupational overuse syndromes
- Hand injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Motor vehicle injuries
- Work related injuries
- Degenerative conditions (e.g. arthritis)
- Stress related conditions
Occupational therapists help individuals to return to work or
continue to work safely and effectively. Occupational therapists can
help employers to:
- Reduce premiums
- Reduce lost time injuries
- Increase return to work outcomes
- Reduce sick leave
The following occupational therapy services are offered at Coastal
Physiotherapy :
- Workplace Evaluation
- Suitable Duties Program
- Rehabilitation Case
Management
- Ergonomic Assessment
- Job Coaching
-
Activities of
Daily Living (ADL) Assessments
- Safety
Assessments
- Pre Employment
Assessments
-
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
- Upper
Extremity Assessment
-
Workplace Evaluation : A specialised assessment of the essential work demands of a
job, and if requested will include an assessment of available suitable duties
for injured workers involved in the return to work process.. This assessment
will identify core job requirements including physical, cognitive, environmental
and psychosocial factors. The workplace evaluation is recommended when an
injured worker is experiencing difficulty coping with a return to work following
an injury, or when the essential job demands of a task are in question prior to
establishing a return to work program.
-
Suitable
Duties Program
: A suitable duties plan can be developed to formalize the workers duties, restrictions and
appropriate work upgrades to achieve an injured worker’s safe and durable return
to gainful employment. Each suitable duties plan is individually tailored to meet the needs
of the employer and the injured worker, and is developed following a thorough
consultative process with all relevant parties. The Occupational Therapist will
monitor the workers performance of tasks stated in the suitable duties plan by visiting the
workplace (if necessary), and conducting regular liaison with the treating
professionals, general practitioner, injured worker and the employer. The
benefit of using Coastal Physiotherapy, is that with the OT and PT working within the same
facility, any physical limitations highlighted as part of the return to work
process can be immediately targeted for physical rehabilitation.
-
Rehabilitation Case Management :
Co-ordination of an injured worker's rehabilitation following injury. The
Occupational Therapist will liaise with all key parties to ensure a timely and
cost-effective recovery following injury.
-
Ergonomic Assessment :
An ergonomic assessment involves the evaluation of a workstation and the
physical environment. An Occupational therapist will analyse the user's working
posture and perform an analysis of existing equipment and workplace design;
including physical design, consideration of environmental factors;
lighting, noise and temperature. Recommendations will be provided in
relation to workstation and postural adjustments, the recommendation of
necessary equipment and education is provided in pause-stretch exercises for the
prevention of muscle fatigue and injury.
-
Job
Coaching : 1:1 intervention at the workplace. This
session is conducted at the workplace, whilst the worker is performing real work
duties ; either suitable duties or pre-injury duties. The therapist will
observe the worker performing the task, and provide advice and practical
demonstration of correct manual handling during task performance, task
simplification in order to minimise strain to the affected areas and how to
apply energy conservation strategies in the workplace.
-
Activities
of Daily Living (ADL) Assessments : An ADL assessment
is required to be completed when an injured worker is reporting limitations or
difficulties with performing personal care and domestic tasks. If the worker
was primarily responsible for caring for their family, through the provision of
childcare or housekeeping services, often the worker struggles to resume
independence. By performing tasks using unsafe techniques and/or inappropriate
techniques, the worker is regularly straining their injured area/s, ultimately
delaying their recovery from their injury, which has a direct impact on their
ability to achieve an early return to work. ADL assessments can also be
performed with individuals experiencing difficulties with maintaining their
independence in the home through varying medical conditions.
-
Safety Assessments : Safety assessments are
recommended where
individuals are being discharged from hospital and require an assessment of
their home environment to ensure their safety upon discharge.
-
Pre-Employment Assessments
: An objective functional assessment of a person's ability to perform the
essential physical demands of a job. A tailored assessment assists
employers to provide a safe working environment by ensuring their prospective
employees are physically suited to the job. This ultimately will assist in
reducing an employers premiums associated with workplace injuries and lost time.
-
Functional Capacity
Evaluation (FCE) : A comprehensive objective
assessment of a workers functional abilities and limitations, to determine an
injured workers ability to perform essential work tasks. The FCE is able to
assess a person’s current safe working tolerances and limitations in relation to
their current or proposed position, identify areas of weakness to target during
work conditioning, and may identify the need for education with respect to
injury management (i.e. Manual handling training) in
order to achieve a successful return to work outcome.
-
Upper Extremity Assessment
: This is a comprehensive assessment focusing
specifically on upper extremity function. The assessment incorporates
lifting, pushing, pulling, grip strength, fine motor and gross motor upper
extremity functioning. This assessment is recommended if the worker has an
upper extremity injury which affects their functional abilities.
|
