Home Therapy Services serve a critical role in helping individuals achieve and maintain their maximum physical and mental well-being in the comfort of your own home. A high-quality therapist can greatly expedite a patient’s ability to regain speech and motor function, as well as getting back on the road to mastering daily activities such as bathing and dressing.
Therapists treat patients with diverse needs, ranging from helping patients’ restore muscle and joint strength following hip or knee replacement surgery to enabling a beneficiary to relearn speech, language, and swallowing skills following a stroke.
ARE THERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF THERAPISTS?
Therapists are highly trained professionals with expertise in specific modalities.
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Physical Therapy (PT) focuses on development, restoration, and maximization of movement and function. Physical therapy often involves exercises designed to improve range of motion, strength training, and training on the use of assistive devices such as walkers. Many therapists are also trained in complex wound care that will require a more complex recovery plan. For example, a knee replacement patient may received PT to learn how to straighten and bend their new knee, along with exercises that focus on strengthening the leg muscles and training on the use of crutches or a walker.
Physical Therapy restores function for individuals who have experienced neuromuscular or skeletal dysfunction. Individualized therapeutic treatment may include:
- Exercise programs to increase muscle function, coordination and endurance
- Wound care
- Pain management
- Joint and soft tissue mobilization to increase range-of-motion
- Training in gait stability, mobility, posture and positioning
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Occupational Therapy (OT) focuses on restoring fine motor skills and basic activities of daily living (ADLs). ADLs are self-care activities performed on a daily basis, such as dressing and bathing. ADLs are often referred to as a measure of the functional status of an individual. A patient who has partial side paralysis due to a stroke, for example, may receive OT to learn how to safely transfer in and out of bed without relying on their other side. The patient may also learn how to safely cook using one hand.
Occupational therapy assists patients by helping them adapt to their social and physical environment through:
- Adaptive techniques or equipment to overcome physical disabilities
- Activities for memory, orientation and cognitive integration
- Training and education in areas such as bathing, grooming, eating and dressing
- Exercises that maximize and maintain normal joint movement designed to minimize the effects of arthritis and other similar conditions
- Activities to increase cognitive skills
SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS
Speech Language Pathologists work with patients who have difficulty communicating or swallowing as a result of surgery, disease, or injury. Speech language pathologists work frequently with stroke patients and help patients with aphasia (partial or complete loss of the ability to communicate or comprehend written or spoken language) relearn speech and language skills.
Language and speech pathologists design treatment plans that address general communication issues and swallowing dysfunction. Plans are created on individual needs and may include:
- Programs for the hearing impaired
- Recovery of speech, memory and language skills
- Verbal and non-verbal communication
- Oral muscle strength
Patients who receive some type of therapy, or combination of services, generally have greater improvements in clinical and functional outcomes. Most of these necessary therapies can be provided in your own home which can greatly speed up recovery from illness, injury or surgery.
WHEN WOULD I BE IN NEED OF HOME THERAPY SERVICES?
There are many possible situations when Home Therapy Services would be necessary and/or beneficial. They may include:
- A loss of balance
- A fall
- Joint pain
- Back pain
- Difficulty walking
- Hip or knee replacement surgery
- Stroke
- Heart Failure
- Heart attack
- Any decline in physical function such as difficulty with dressing or bathing
- Declining memory
- Difficulty preparing meals
Horizon Care Services can guide you to the finest and most trusting Home Therapy Services in the area. Give our staff a call today to help you get started!