Both therapies aim to restore patient mobility to improve their quality of life, and both often use manual, hands-on techniques to achieve their goals. They may also be used in tandem for patients that could benefit from the combined expertise of both specialties. However, these two therapies focus on treating very different aspects of our physical and mental health.
Differentiating between the two
A professional OT’s take on occupational therapy vs physical therapy
Keri DeGroot, an occupational therapist and assistant teaching professor with the University of Washington’s Division of Occupational Therapy, worked alongside physical therapists throughout her career. She defines occupational therapy through the Person-Environment-Occupation model and uses it to distinguish occupational from physical therapy.
“There’s a framework out there called the Person-Environment-Occupation [PEO] framework and I think that’s the best way to describe it and why we’re a little bit different than physical therapy.
You have the Person that encompasses strength and balance and thinking ability and everything [about a person]. And then the Environment, what’s going on around that person. And then the Occupation, the actual task or goal of what they’re trying to do,” she said.
What is physical therapy?
At its core, physical therapy helps people improve their physical mobility. This may be necessary for people recovering from an injury or surgery, managing a disability, or for people who want to take preventative measures against future injuries. In general, physical therapy usually focuses on our gross motor skills—using our torso, arms and legs for “whole body” functions like walking, running, jumping, and more.
Physical therapy mostly focuses on the ‘Person’ spoke of the PEO framework.
“Physical therapy does some environment and some occupation, but really their main focus is going to be those person factors. How can we rehab the injury? How can we get better balance? How can we change what we’re doing at the person level, and maybe a little bit with the environment by adding a cane or a walker,” DeGroot said.
How PTs help patients
A physical therapist (PT) is the lead physician that meets with patients to assess their physical state and create a treatment plan. Their job is to help patients set realistic goals, track progress, and amend the treatment plan if needed. Physical therapist assistants (PTAs) often help them execute their treatment plans with the patients.
What is occupational therapy?
“I like to define occupational therapy as a partner or coach that helps you do what you need and want to be able to do,” DeGroot said.
Occupational therapy aims to help patients improve mobility and function to make it easier to execute the daily tasks of living, such as feeding, dressing or cleaning oneself, writing, using a mobility device, and much more. These kinds of activities generally focus on one’s fine motor skills—the use of the muscles in our hands, eyes, and other small muscle groups—as opposed to our gross motor skills.
“Occupational therapy basically just says, ‘What do you need and want to be able to do?’ Let’s evaluate what’s in the way of that and let’s intervene where we need to intervene.” DeGroot said that as an occupational therapist, she may be able to help someone without even addressing the Person aspect of the PEO framework but could still change the task (Occupation) or the environment to make it possible for the patient to participate in what they want to do.
How OTs help patients
Like a physical therapist, an occupational therapist (OT) assesses a patient’s needs and goals and then creates a treatment plan to achieve those goals. They are often assisted by occupational therapist assistants (OTAs) that help to execute the treatment plan.
Occupational therapists not only help improve a patient’s physical skills. If needed, they help manage a patient’s social-emotional skills and/or developmental conditions that affect a person’s ability to perform daily activities. Examples of conditions that occupational therapists can help with include:
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