Parkinson's Occupational Therapy Interventions

Help With Funding For Adaptations

Occupational Therapy & Parkinsons Disease

Occupational therapists can advise and help arrange funding for minor home adaptations if you need them, such as fitting grab rails or hand rails by steps and stairs.

If you need advice about more expensive home adaptations, such as stairlifts, or accessible bathing facilities, you should speak to an occupational therapist based in a social services department, or the health and social care services of a local authority. They may advise you on any funding available. However, major home adaptations, such as installing a level-floor shower are often subject to means testing.

Using An Adaptive Keyboard

There are adaptive keyboards and specific software programs that can help to decrease typing mistakes and make the process of typing on a computer easier. There are also speech-to-text options which allow you to dictate what you want to write and eliminate the need for typing altogether. An OT consultation can help set you up with these options.

One trick that I recommend frequently which helps people use their computer is changing the cursor setting so that it tracks more slowly across the screen when you use your mouse. Slowing down the cursor can help make it easier to see and control. In addition, you can change the sensitivity of your mouse to make it easier to control.

Training Of Trial Therapists

Before the start of the trial, the participating occupational therapists follow a three-day training to inform them about the study procedures and to train them to treat the patients and caregivers according to the OTiP intervention protocol. Special attention is given to enhancing the therapists skills in coaching and motivational interviewing and in eliciting and collaboratively defining meaningful, individualized goals with the patient and caregiver. Ways to achieve sufficient treatment intensity in ten weeks are discussed. Halfway through the inclusion period a booster training session is planned. Therapists can use a secure online platform to share issues and experiences and can consult an expert OT to discuss the intervention.

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How Can Occupational Therapy Help Parkinson’s Disease

For Parkinson’s disease, occupational therapy generally provides assessment, treatment, and recommendations in the following areas:

Arm and hand therapy
Driver evaluation and vehicle modification information
Cooking and homemaking adaptations
Ways to make the most of your energy
Computer modifications
Workplace or work equipment modifications
Leisure skill development

Individualized Occupational Therapy Interventions

1)This AJOT systematic review article examines the effectiveness of ...

Two Level 1b RCTs provide evidence related to guidelines-based, comprehensive, individualized occupational therapy interventions to address IADL function in people with PD. A large, multicenter, pragmatic RCT tested occupational therapy based on the U.K. National Health Service guidelines that was provided in an average of four 1-hr sessions over 8 wk in community and outpatient settings . The intervention focused on transfers, dressing, grooming, sleep, fatigue, indoor mobility, household tasks, and other environmental issues and had no significant effect on clinician-rated IADL performance. A multicenter assessor-blind RCT tested occupational therapy following the Dutch national practice guidelines that was provided for an average of eight 1-hr sessions over 10 wk in the home . The intervention included self-management, coaching, and skills training for compensatory strategies, task and routine simplification, adaptive equipment, and environmental modification and had significant effects on reported IADL participation but not on IADL performance. Together, these studies provide moderate strength of evidence that comprehensive individualized occupational therapy interventions can improve IADL participation but low strength of evidence that it can improve IADL performance.

Search Strategy For Cinahl

S1: TI OR AB

S2: TI OR AB

S3: TI OR AB

S4: TI OR AB

S5: S3 OR S4

S6: S1 AND S2 AND S5

Citation: Foster, E. R., Carson, L. G., Archer, J., & Hunter, E. G. . Occupational therapy interventions for instrumental activities of daily living for adults with Parkinsons disease: A systematic review . American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75, 7503190030.

Parkinsons Disease Therapy: Is Movement Medicine And Are You Taking The Right Dose

With todays growing evidence this is now a solid truth: Functional and intensive exercise can promote and help sustain independence, cardiovascular fitness and reduce the risk of falls in people affected by movement disorders, especially Parkinsons Disease.

But, despite this we still see programs out there not being lifted to their true potential.

So, What Is Right For You?

Whether youre having difficulty with walking, turning, freezing or just cant move quick enough in and out of bed, a chair or the car, perhaps getting dressed is your big bug bear for you- especially those buttons!.

What ever your situation, weve seen too many people opt out of living the life they want because of these mounting challenges, and we would like to help.

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Systematic Review Of The Effectiveness Of Occupational Therapyrelated Interventions For People With Parkinsons Disease

Erin R. Foster, OTD, MSCI, OTR/L,Mayuri Bedekar, MS, OTR/L,Linda Tickle-Degnen, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA,

Erin R. Foster, Mayuri Bedekar, Linda Tickle-Degnen Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Occupational TherapyRelated Interventions for People With Parkinsons Disease. Am J Occup Ther January/February 2014, Vol. 68, 3949. doi:

Data Sources And Search Strategy

EXERCISES FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE | Occupational therapy | home exercises

This study was carried out according to the PRISMA guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions . The systematic literature search was conducted using Pubmed , Excerpta Medica dataBASE , Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials , the Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System , and Chinese medical databases . The articles reported until December 2016 were searched, and there was no language limitation. Various exercise terms and MeSH terms were used for searching. The search strategies used in each database are presented in Table 1.

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How An Occupational Therapist Helps Seniors With Parkinsons

Parkinsons disease is a disorder that damages the nervous system and affects movement. Its a progressive disease that affects a persons ability to carry out ADLs and IADLs in a normal fashion.

ADLs: Activities of daily living, such as getting out of bed, taking a shower, dressing and eating
IADLs: Instrumental activities of daily living, such as caring for a pet, cooking, driving

How Can Occupational Therapy Help People With Parkinsons Disease

Occupational therapists can work with people with Parkinsons Disease and their families to provide advice, support and guidance during their journey. For some they may require advice on a specific item of equipment whilst for other clients we are involved in more substantial home modifications and support as their needs change with the progressing condition. Below are some ways that an occupational therapist can help:

How we can help

We aim to solve the difficulties associated with Parkinsons Disease. Some of the common ones we treat are listed below.

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What Are The Common Difficulties Associated With Parkinson’s Disease

The symptoms of Parkinson’s can be categorised under three main headings and below are some of the functional difficulties they may cause.

Tremors – such as a trembling or shaking in the hands. This can affect the ability to write, eat, drink, prepare meals or use door keys
Slow movement due to muscle stiffness – this can mean that carrying out daily tasks such as getting out of bed, on and off the toilet, washing, dressing or using the stairs all become challenging
Difficulty walking this can mean an increased risk of falling and a decreased ability to carry out daily activities

If you would like to learn more about how we as occupational therapists can help people overcome common difficulties associated with Parkinsons Disease, you will find some useful links at the bottom of this page.

What Is Occupational Therapy

In life with PD, you may have encountered speech or physical therapists. Where does occupational therapy fit in and how is it different? First, note that the word occupation in OT means activity. Our job in OT is to identify strategies that will allow you to continue doing activities that are important to you. Each person with PD will have different goals based on his or her symptoms and disease progression, as well as individual lifestyles, interests and priorities. Whether you have been living with PD for one month, five years or 20 years, and whether your goal is playing tennis or spending time with family, our approach is the same: to find ways to match your personal strengths with activities and an environment that will help you reach your goal.

What Is Occupational Therapy And How Can It Help With Parkinsons Disease

Occupational therapy is a branch of rehabilitative medicine that focuses on the performance of the activities required for independent daily living. like those mentioned above and others.

Occupational therapists who specialize in PD are experts in devising ways to help you maximize your movement and quality of life. In the past, we interviewed PD occupational therapists who specialized in:

Driving cessation

Unlike physical therapists who help with improving body movements, as well as strengthening balance, body alignment and range of motion, occupational therapists focus on the activities and tasks of daily life to promote independence and productivity. Plenty of people with PD will work with both types of therapists as part of their treatment plan.

Occupational Therapy For Parkinsons

Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do things they want to do through the use of therapeutic activities . Occupational therapists enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health and prevent or live better with injury, illness or disability.

OT interventions focus on adapting the environment through modifications, modifying the task, teaching a skill and educating the person, care partner and family in order to increase participation and ability to perform daily activities. OT is practical and customizable, focusing especially on activities that are important and meaningful to each specific person.

How Does Physical Therapy Help Parkinson’s Disease

HOW CAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST HELP PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S IN REHAB

Physical therapy cannot cure Parkinson’s disease, because at this time, neurological damage cannot be reversed. But therapy can help you compensate for the changes brought about by the condition. These “compensatory treatments,” as they’re called, include learning about new movement techniques, strategies, and equipment. A physical therapist can teach you exercises to strengthen and loosen muscles. Many of these exercises can be performed at home. The goal of physical therapy is to improve your independence and quality of life by improving movement and function and relieving pain.

Physical therapy can help with:

Balance problems

Important note: Some physical therapists may apply diathermy to relieve muscle aches and pains. This could be dangerous to patients who have deep brain stimulators.

What Is Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive, neurological condition where nerve cells in the brain stop working over time, and therefore cannot produce the chemical dopamine. Dopamine sends signals to the brain triggering it to produce smooth, fluid and controlled movement. Without dopamine, movement can become slower and more difficult.

How Occupational Therapy Helps Parkinsons

Parkinsons disease is a degenerative disorder of the brain that impairs nerve cells that control movement. This leads to symptoms like shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking and talking, that gradually worsen over time. Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinsons each year, with men being 1.5 times more likely to have the disease than women.

Healthy Outlook spoke with occupational therapist Lorinda Hagstrom from Overlakes Outpatient Rehabilitation Services to learn more about this treatment.

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Who Is Lisa Warren

Lisa Warren graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch with a B.S. in occupational therapy. She received a Masters of Health Science from the University of Florida. She has more than 30 years of experience as an occupational therapist. Lisa is the rehabilitation site manager for the UF Health Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases. She has been a member of this team since 2010. This rehab clinic provides occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy evaluations and treatment for persons with neurological disorders. Lisa has lectured healthcare providers locally, nationally and internationally on therapy for Parkinsons Disease, Huntingtons Disease, dystonia, essential tremor and other neurological disorders. She frequently speaks to support groups, teaches therapy students and provides community workshops.

Lisa has lectured locally and nationally on therapy for Parkinsons Disease, Huntingtons Disease, dystonia, essential tremor and other neurological disorders. She frequently speaks to support groups and at community workshops. She has established a quarterly meeting of therapists across the US and Canada for information sharing on the treatment of patients with neurological disorders. She is considered a world expert on OT for Parkinsons disease.

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Use Your Personal Strengths

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Performance Among People With ...

How can you build on your strengths and minimize your limitations? For example, if you have the strength of helping children enjoy reading, you could exercise that strength by reading to your grandchildren, by listening to them as they read, or by playing a reading game that stimulates both your imagination and theirs.

One of your strengths may be thinking skills. One thinking skill is imagining doing the activity before doing it. For example, imagining writing big can actually help you write big. Another thinking skill is speaking the steps out loud. When combing your hair, try saying hold and comb, to avoid dropping the comb.

Make sure you are exercising. Improving strength, balance and endurance through exercise supports your participation in all sorts of activities. Whether it is dancing or walking to a neighbors house, find an enjoyable way to exercise.

Lastly, be positive. Think, I will do rather than Ill try to and you may be more successful.

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Add Aqua Therapy To Your Parkinsons Patients Treatment

HydroWorx offers a variety of products specifically designed to help facilities, just like yours, bring the benefits of aqua therapy to Parkinsons patients and many others. We can work with you to identify your patients needs to determine the ideal hydrotherapy solution from our versatile family of products.

Not only can we help you identify the best possible equipment for your facility needs, but also unique and creative ways to integrate aquatics into your Parkinsons patients current treatment routines. When you have the equipment onsite, it becomes simpler to make adjustments, especially when you take advantage of features enhancing the experience like adjustable-floor therapy pools and variable-speed underwater treadmills.

The use of aquatic therapy, underwater treadmills and resistance jet technology for Parkinsons patients can do the following and more:

Help regain trunk balance
Improve ambulation
Encourage confidence

All of the above are critical when encouraging Parkinsons patients to exercise for their health and to reduce the severity of their symptoms.

Aquatics offers a full range of exercises patients can do without a fear of falling to hold them back. Whether youre working with Parkinsons patients, Alzheimers patients or patients with a host of other physical and neurological conditions, hydrotherapy can be an effective tool for promoting overall physical fitness and good health.

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Occupational Therapy Interventions For People With Parkinsons Disease

Kelli Reiling Ott, OTD, OTR/L,Sherry Kolodziejczak, MS, OTR/L,

Kelli Reiling Ott, Sherry Kolodziejczak Occupational Therapy Interventions for People With Parkinsons Disease. Am J Occup Ther January/February 2022, Vol. 76, 7601390010. doi:

Evidence Connection articles provide a clinical application of the evidence from the systematic reviews developed in conjunction with the American Occupational Therapy Associations Evidence-Based Practice Project. In this Evidence Connection article, we describe a case report of an older adult recently diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. The occupational therapy assessment and intervention process in the outpatient clinic is described. This Evidence Connection article is based on findings from an AOTA systematic review on interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice to improve and maintain participation in education, work, volunteering, and leisure and social activities among adults with Parkinsons disease. Each article in this series summarizes the evidence from the systematic reviews on a given topic and presents an application of the evidence as it relates to a clinical case. Evidence Connection articles illustrate how the research evidence from the reviews can inform and guide professional reasoning.

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Preparing Meals And Navigating The Kitchen

Consider where things are located in your kitchen. You might want to reorganize or rearrange things in your kitchen so that frequently needed items are the easiest to access. Plan ahead and break down the steps of your meal prep so that it is more manageable.

There are lots of tricks and tips that OTs have to help in the kitchen such as sliding heavy pots of water along the countertop instead of carrying them or sitting at the kitchen table to chop vegetables instead of standing. If you enjoy cooking, there are likely lots of suggestions an OT can make to help you be safer and more independent in the kitchen.

Physical Therapy For Parkinsons Disease

Parkinson’s Disease Exercises: LSVT BIG Movements

Its well-known that exercise of all kinds is beneficial for patients with Parkinsons disease. But physical therapy, in particular, is key. Why? A professional can guide you through the right moves to increase mobility, strength and balance, and help you remain independent, says Denise Padilla-Davidson, a Johns Hopkins physical therapist who works with patients who have Parkinsons. Here are things a therapist may work on:

Note: Please discuss any exercise program with your physician/neurologist and get a referral to a physical therapist or trainer with expertise in Parkinsons disease before starting any specific program.

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Parkinson’s Occupational Therapy Interventions