by Cindy Abbate

Created on: May 07, 2008

A physical therapist will work to keep you flexible and strong as they strive to keep you as physically fit as possible. An occupational therapist works to give you the skills for living.
This licensed professional is trained to help the patient reduce pain and stress as they go about their daily activities.

For a person with rheumatoid arthritis(RA) this means protecting affected joints and looking at ways to make daily tasks simply routine again instead of pain filled barriers. There can be a certain amount of resentment against this type of therapy as it tends to invade deeper into the patient's life than other treatments. But keep in mind this professional has many tools at his or her disposal and their aim is make your life easier.

To begin with they'll need to assess your condition. Since arthritis affects everyone differently they'll take note of which joints have problems. They'll observe how you move, sit, stand and do everyday tasks. They can then offer suggestions on how to make things easier by changing body position or maybe wearing a splint if necessary. The goal will be to protect your joints while allowing you as much freedom from pain as possible.

They may recommend simple exercises to help you gain strength and keep mobility but mostly they'll make you aware of how you use your body. We get so involved in the business of living that it gets hard to stand back and take an objective look at ourselves. The occupational therapist is there to help you gain awareness on how to move to protect yourself. In time this becomes second nature.

The therapist will want to see your home and office (if you work). The goal is to look for ways to not only make life easier but also to protect you from possible injury. It may be advisable to arrange furniture so that the patient can move with ease from room to room rather than having to side step or twist about items. It may be to your advantage to have a ramp put in out front so that you don't have to climb stairs with affected knee joints. This would allow easy access in a wheelchair which would make movement outside the home safer and easier.
Again the suggestions will depend upon the patient's needs. Larger knobs on cabinets or perhaps raised or lowered counters may be in order. It depends on how the disease is affecting the patient. Often financial aid is available for these changes and the therapist can usually point you in the right direction for requesting help.

There is an almost endless array of devices to help make chores what they should be - simple and mundane. There are things to help with buttons, pulling on socks, opening cans, brushing teeth and up to larger items like shower stools or grips about the house in appropriate places. The therapist literally has an arsenal of helpful tools at his or her fingertips to help make life easier.

The occupational therapist will want to meet with the RA patient's family and care givers. They will be filled in how to help their loved one maintain as much independence as possible while avoiding injury.

This therapist is a part of the patient's health care team. A person with RA may have to learn to cope with the realities of the disease but they can do so with dignity and independence.

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