Movement is medicine. From Hippocrates to modern doctors, there is universal agreement that moving your body contributes to wellness and protects against disease. Any movement is good movement, whether it is playing outside, scrubbing dishes, feeding yourself, or checking your car’s oil. All movement is medicine.
Occupational therapy’s holistic approach supports movement in a powerful way. We are trained to listen to each patient to both discover and understand what occupations are most important. Which of the hundreds of ways to engage in and enjoy life is important to your patient? Do they want to garden, cook, be outdoors, have a pet, play a game, wash and style their own hair, drive, or put their shoes on? Bringing back even a small activity is potent medicine.
After identifying what is important, OTs make it happen by assessing functional limitations, suggesting interventions, modifying tasks, utilizing adaptive equipment, and using therapeutic exercise. Patients, buoyed by their own intrinsic motivation, are empowered through occupational therapy to make their occupation a reality. By identifying those activities most important to a person, OT ensures patients will engage in movement over and over again. This is the super power of OT!
