{"id":5281,"date":"2021-06-03T10:06:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T14:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/?p=5281"},"modified":"2021-08-23T17:07:42","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T21:07:42","slug":"occupational-therapy-and-workers-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/occupational-therapy-and-workers-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupational Therapy and Workers\u2019 Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most workers, after their surgeries and doctor visits, need to treat with different types of therapists. Some of the types of therapists you may need to treat with are physical therapists, rehabilitation therapists, and occupational therapists. The term \u201coccupational therapy\u201d can be a little confusing. Occupational therapy doesn\u2019t mean that the therapists focus on helping you perform your job tasks. Occupation is used more broadly \u2013 in the sense of what tasks \u201coccupy\u201d your time. Occupational therapists help people, even children, perform their daily activities.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aota.org\/Conference-Events\/OTMonth\/what-is-OT.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American Occupational Therapy Association<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, occupational therapy \u201cpractitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent\u2014or live better with\u2014injury, illness, or disability.\u201d Occupational therapists help children participate in school activities. Occupational therapists help older adults adjust to physical changes and cognitive changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><i>What services do occupational therapists provide<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The broad objectives of occupational therapy are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evaluating the person\/worker to determine your goals and what tasks you need to carry out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preparing a customized personal plan to help you perform your daily tasks and obtain your goals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evaluate the progress of the plan to determine whether any changes should be made to help you meet your goals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOccupational therapy practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment and\/or task to fit the person, and the person is an integral part of the therapy team. It is an evidence-based practice deeply rooted in science.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/what-is-occupational-therapy\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medical News today<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offers more insight into the role of occupational therapists. Occupational therapy helps people with work, school, hobbies, social interactions, and household responsibilities. Often, your family physician or a treating specialist will recommend that you work with an occupational therapist. In North Carolina and Virginia <a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/practice-areas\/workers-compensation\/\">workers\u2019 compensation<\/a> cases, the doctor you pick from the employer\u2019s list of physicians may recommend that you see an occupational therapist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists help you adapt to the environment around you. Specific examples of occupational therapy include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assisting people, who suffered injuries at work, through their physical changes (including improvements due to healing) so the employee can work.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cH<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">elping people experiencing changes in how they think or remember things to carry on working\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/ooh\/healthcare\/mobile\/occupational-therapists.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearly half<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0of the occupational therapists in America work in hospitals or with specialists. Others work with various health services. Some work in nursing homes and schools. Occupational therapists need to obtain a license to practice. Many occupational therapists have a master\u2019s degree in occupational therapy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><i>What you should expect when you meet with your occupational therapist<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The occupational therapist (OT) will start by reviewing your medical history. They\u2019ll ask you questions about your daily living tasks and your daily work tasks. They may ask you to try to perform some of these tasks to see what you can and can\u2019t do. Some OTs may even go to your workplace \u201cto see whether they can spot any ways to improve them.\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the goals have been set, the OT will work to determine what practical solutions, other than physical therapy, can help. Simple suggestions may include adding handrails or labeling items if the person has any loss of cognitive function. The OT may recommend assistive devices such as a wheelchair or computer aids. The OT will then work with you to help you learn how to use those assistive devices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After regular intervals, such as every two weeks or every month, the OT will monitor your improvement. Part of the monitoring will include your responses to the OT\u2019s questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><i>How does occupational therapy differ from physical therapy?<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many people confuse occupational therapy and physical therapy. While both health services aim to improve a worker\u2019s health so he\/she can return to work, there are differences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists focus on your ability to do the tasks you need to do in your everyday life. Physical therapists mostly focus on improving your movement.\u00a0 Physical therapists regularly:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prescribe certain exercises depending on the type of injuries you have and the severity of the injuries<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide \u201chands-on care\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Educate workers and others about the affected areas<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Often, part of physical therapy is to build up your muscles around the injured area so the muscles can do some of the work the injured area normally does.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physical therapists (PTs) also create their own personalized plans for injured workers. The plans generally complement the OT\u2019s plan. PT plans include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improving your mobility<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing pain and any chronic condition<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping you recover from a surgery or an injury<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping strengthen and repair your body with the aim of avoiding additional injuries<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational therapists generally focus on practical solutions such as assistive equipment or methods for helping the injured worker perform daily tasks. Physical therapists focus on exercise routines to help your body heal from and adjust to your injuries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>How does occupational therapy differ from <\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/vocational-rehabilitation-benefits-in-virginia-work-injury-cases-explained\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vocational rehabilitation<\/span><\/a><b><i>?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vocationaltraininghq.com\/vocational-rehabilitation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Vocational Training HQ<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, vocational rehabilitation helps people with a disability (such as a temporary disability due to a workplace injury) return to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s the official line, but in reality, vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRC\u2019s) typically will not be communicating with your doctors, or assist you with any type of job that you would be interested in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, unlike the occupational therapist, who is someone that you are referred to by your authorized treating physician, a vocational rehabilitation counselor is someone who is handpicked and hired directly by the workers compensation insurance company. As such, they need to be viewed as agents of the insurance company. In other words, the primary interest of the VRC will be to <\/span><b>satisfy the needs and<\/b> <b>desires of the insurance company<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The VRC is NOT working on your behalf. This is a very important distinction to keep in mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The job of the vocational rehabilitation counselor is generally two-fold:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find the injured worker a job within his or her physical restrictions in order to reduce the liability of the insurance carrier for ongoing workers compensation payments and\/or\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enforce compliance with each and every detail of the vocational rehabilitation plan, sometimes to your extreme annoyance, to entice you to fail. This will enable the VRC to claim that you failed to follow the VR plan, and, in Virginia, will result in an immediate cessation or cutoff of your workers compensation checks due to such failure.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occasionally, vocational rehabilitation counselors may provide career counseling advice such as explaining your employment options if your injuries don\u2019t fully heal and assisting your with updating your resume\u2019; however, in most cases, at her core, the vocational rehab counselor is an agent of the workers compensation insurance company, hired to attempt to reduce the value of your claim and ongoing benefits and\/or bait you into noncompliance and then get you cut off of benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is very different from an occupational therapist, who is usually another one of your health care providers, who is assisting you in recovery from your injuries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Joe Miller Law, we\u2019ve helped thousands of injured and ill workers obtain just recoveries for their medical expenses and their legal share of lost wages. We achieve these goals by working with your physicians, therapists, and other health care providers. When necessary, we work with independent medical providers to help ensure the employer doctors are helping you as much as you need. We\u2019ve helped these workers through all types of injuries and all types of recovery plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We fight to ensure the employer\u2019s doctors don\u2019t force you back to work before you\u2019re ready. In some cases, your health providers will report that you can return to work \u2013 with work restrictions. To discuss all aspects of your workers\u2019 compensation claim including occupational therapy, call lawyer Joe Miller, Esq., at <\/span><b>888-667-8295<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. or complete my online <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact form<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to schedule an appointment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employees in North Carolina and Virginia can also use our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/free-workers-comp-case-eval\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Electronic Case Review<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most workers, after their surgeries and doctor visits, need to treat with different types of therapists. Some of the types of therapists you may need to treat with are physical therapists, rehabilitation therapists, and occupational therapists. The term \u201coccupational therapy\u201d can be a little confusing. Occupational therapy doesn\u2019t mean that the therapists focus on helping &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Occupational Therapy and Workers\u2019 Compensation\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/occupational-therapy-and-workers-compensation\/#more-5281\" aria-label=\"Read more about Occupational Therapy and Workers\u2019 Compensation\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,10,31],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Joe Miller","author_link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/author\/jmiller\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Most workers, after their surgeries and doctor visits, need to treat with different types of therapists. Some of the types of therapists you may need to treat with are physical therapists, rehabilitation therapists, and occupational therapists. The term \u201coccupational therapy\u201d can be a little confusing. Occupational therapy doesn\u2019t mean that the therapists focus on helping&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}