About

Therapeutic Exercises

Therapeutic exercises refer to functional movements that focus on restoring and improving strength, endurance, flexibility, stability, and balance. The goal of therapeutic exercises is the restoration of an injured patient to be fully functioning and pain-free while engaging in all functional mobility tasks. For example, someone recovering from a shoulder joint replacement would benefit from therapeutic exercises aimed to increase range of motion; or someone with heart disease can benefit from therapeutic exercises aimed to increase muscle strength, power, and endurance.

Therapeutic Activities

Therapeutic activities aim to combine balance, strength, and range of motion to perform a functional activity. For example, an activity like a standing bean bag toss aims to improve dynamic standing, balance, and coordination for improved safety and independence with dressing and bathing.

Self-Care Skills Training

The aim of self-care skills training is to help the patient develop strategies and adjust the needs of the patient, to focus on compensatory techniques to ensure successful completion of dressing, bathing, toileting, and grooming tasks. Improving self-care skills helps the patient regain control of their lives and increases the patient's quality of life.

Neuromuscular Re-Education

Neuromuscular re-education is a rehabilitative technique used by occupational therapists to help restore nerve and muscle communication and to help produce coordinated movements for activities of daily living (ADLs). With repetitive skilled neuromuscular re-education training, the ability of nerves and muscles to communicate increases and brings about the desired functional movement.

Balance Training

The aim of balance training is to evaluate locomotor and balance disorders and determine strategies to improve neuromuscular function, musculoskeletal strength, and coordination of functional movements. Balance training will reduce the risk of falls which decreases the patient's chance of bone fractures or debilitating functional mobility.

Functional Mobility Skills Training

Functional mobility is a person's ability to move in their immediate environment to accomplish an activity of tasks that an individual finds to be meaningful. Examples of functional mobility may consist of bed mobility, sitting up on the edge of the bed, scooting along the side of the bed, and sitting and standing.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

Activities of daily living (ADLs) are used to describe a patient's self-care tasks. Examples of ADLs are grooming, transferring, bathing, toileting, and feeding tasks.

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)

Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are used to describe more complex activities than ADLs but still contribute to the patient's independence and overall well-being. Examples of IADLs are food preparation, shopping, housekeeping, laundry, and medication management.

IADLs, Balance Training, and Therapeutic Activity

ADLs and Self-Care Skills Training

Functional Mobility, Balance Training, and Therapeutic Activity

Therapeutic Exercises

Therapeutic Exercises and Neuromuscular Re-Education

Balance Training and Functional Mobility