If your clients want have a goal of returning to sports or to exercise more, today we’re sharing some resources and ideas for you to help facilitate that.
Occupational therapy is all about helping our clients return to the activities and occupations they want to do. Check out this short clip to see OT in action with a client who wanted to return to playing tennis after hand surgery.
AOTA’s critically appraised topics (CATs) provide an at-a-glance synthesis of articles on a focused question with summaries of key findings and the bottom line for OT practice. The following CATs are for AOTA members only:
Exercise for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Exercise for people with cancer
Exercise for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders
Interventions for people with lower limb amputations includes a bottom line for OT: “Participation in sports and physical activities improved physical health and quality of life among younger adults with amputation or limb loss.”
You can help facilitate your client’s return to sports or exercise by helping develop an adaptive sports guide for them. This OT Practice article outlines the way to create your own personalized guides.
Probably most of your clients will just be interested in recreational sports, but check out this story about an OT who helped an elite athlete train for the Paralympics.
Occupational therapist Kerri Morgan who has competed in Paralympics and won several medals talked to AOTA about the opportunities the Paralympic games give to people with disabilities.
Just because you have a disability does not mean that you cannot participate competitively at the very top levels. Additionally, the skills occupational therapists have would be very good for coaching or helping to assess people with disabilities for the right adaptive equipment.
Read the interview with Kerri Morgan.
Sports and exercise benefit more than just the body! The mental health effects of sports can also be beneficial for your clients.
The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Navy will further study the therapeutic benefits of surfing due to the positive results of programs like one led by AOTA member Carly Rogers. Listen to Rogers describe how surfing helps alleviate psychological distress symptoms in an Everyday Evidence podcast.
Rogers also gave a TEDx talk about how surfing is a therapeutic medium for healing, which you can watch here.
We want to know how you incorporate sports and exercise with your clients. AOTA members can log in and tell us about it in the comments.