Occupational therapy for pain symptoms
Pain can have a significant impact on daily life. Sometimes limitations arise because activities cause pain, require more energy or become less predictable. As a result, it can be tempting to avoid activities, put them off or, conversely, carry on for too long when things seem to be going better.
You may find that ordinary everyday activities take more effort, that you feel less confident about moving around, or that you increasingly have to make choices about what you do and do not do. Chronic pain can also affect your work, leisure, social activities and the distribution of energy throughout the day.
Occupational therapy helps you to carry out daily activities in a way that suits your abilities and capacity. In doing so, we focus not only on the pain itself, but above all on how you can continue to do the activities that are important to you.
What do we offer?
Occupational therapy for pain focuses on maintaining or rebuilding daily activities despite pain.
During an initial assessment, for example, we look at:
- which activities have become difficult due to pain;
- how exertion and recovery alternate throughout the day;
- patterns of overexertion or, conversely, avoidance of activities;
- the impact of pain on work, household chores and leisure;
- opportunities to organise or carry out activities differently.
Depending on your situation, our support may consist of advice, energy management, better organisation and structuring of activities, coaching, practising skills, assistive devices or practical adjustments that fit in with your daily life.
Who is this offer intended for?
Occupational therapy for pain may be appropriate if you:
- notice that pain is affecting your daily activities;
- have started avoiding activities for fear of worsening your symptoms;
- struggles to strike a balance between exertion and recovery;
- experiences fluctuating capacity;
- have become less active than you would like;
- seeks support in setting up activities;
- work, household or find it harder to keep up your leisure activities;
- want to gain better control over your functioning despite pain.
This service may, for example, be suitable for long-term or recurring pain, such as muscle or joint pain, chronic pain or pain that affects daily activities.
What can you expect?
An appointment with the occupational therapist begins with a discussion about your symptoms, your daily activities and what is important for you to continue doing. In doing so, we look not only at times when you are in pain, but also at how activities and recovery influence one another.
