What is difference between OT and PT?
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06-25-2014 #1
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What is difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy/ hand therapy?
Last edited by diamond; 09-04-2014 at 12:14 PM.
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06-25-2014 #2
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Have you had any electrodiagnostic testing done? PT often treats carpal tunnel. Hand therapy specifically is an additional designation, and a certified hand therapist can be an OT or PT.
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06-25-2014 #3
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No testing done just seen by OT last year
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06-25-2014 #4
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I have rheumatoid arthritis and have been to a hand therapist several times. I have never been to PT for my hands/wrists. I have found hand therapy very helpful. They have both exercises to help strengthen and also "appliances". The hand therapists have custom made night splints for me and fitted me properly for day splints.
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06-25-2014 #5
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Did you experience anything like me? Anything to help me?
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06-26-2014 #6
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Well, the main thing you can do is figure out the cause and change it. For example, my thumb will start hurting and it usually coincides with too much time playing bejeweled blitz on my phone... If you are using a mouse, switch to a trackball and see if it helps.
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06-26-2014 #7
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OP, does yours get worse in the morning or overnight? Have you discussed a splint with your doc? Many people end up in flexion (bending) of the wrists when sleeping kind of curled up and experience a lot of pain overnight or in the a.m. Sometimes a splint can help as one tool in the toolbox. I wish I could give you more specific info, but it is really difficult without doing a proper eval to give any meaningful direction. An eval would also give you more info on whether it is specifically carpal tunnel, because there are other issues that can present somewhat similarly to carpal tunnel or coexist with carpal tunnel.
OTs often deal with hand/wrist issues, but PTs also frequently treat carpal tunnel and similar issues as well.
To add to the confusion, a certified "hand therapist" is an additional test and certification for people who tend to specialize almost exclusively in hand/wrist issues and have put in 4000 hrs of clinical hand therapy. http://www.htcc.org/ They have to be a PT or OT to sit for the exam, but yes, a certified "hand therapist" can be either a PT or an OT.Last edited by brittone2; 06-26-2014 at 11:58 AM.
Mama to DS-2004
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and a new addition-ds born march 2010
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06-26-2014 #8
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Last edited by diamond; 09-04-2014 at 12:15 PM.
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