| OCCUPATIONAL |
| As defined by the American
Occupational Therapy Association … |
Occupational
Therapy involves the “therapeutic use of
work, self-care and play activities to increase
independent function, enhance development, and
prevent disability. It may include adaptation
of task or environment to achieve maximum independence
and to enhance the quality of life.”
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Our Occupational Therapists will work one-on-one
with you to develop a customized treatment program
to improve your daily living skills and/or arm
function. Although our Occupational Therapists
work in our clinics and long-term care centers,
patients may also be seen in their homes if this
best fits their needs.
In addition to programming geared toward
improving daily living skills, we specialize in:
· Hand
Therapy
· Incontinence
/ Bladder & Bowel Health
· Driving
Aptitude & Cognitive Testing
Please click on one of these topics if
you’d like more information…
Other areas our Occupational Therapists treat
are:
- Helping individuals deal with aging or a disease
process to remain as independent and safe as
possible
- Assisting families and caregivers in knowing
how to manage their loved ones within the home
or other environment
- Assessing cognitive abilities of individuals
with Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia for
environmental safety
- Helping individuals recover from or prevent
an injury
- Providing recommendations for home modifications
for safety and accessibility
- Recommending assistive devices to increase
independence in daily life
- Assessing and making recommendations for
wheelchair seating and positioning
- Rehabilitating individuals who have a hand
injury or surgery
- Custom making splints for the hand and upper
extremity
- Performing work site and ergonomic evaluations
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| Hand
Therapy |
Treat Your Hands Well
You want your hand, wrist, forearm and elbow
to be pain free and efficient in order to carry
out all your daily living and work activities. After
all, we do most everything with our hands and arms.
Treatment of these areas is a specialized and diverse
service due to the complexity of the structures,
which are all interrelated.
Did you know…?
- There are 30 bones in the arm, not including
most of the shoulder
- At least 29 muscles function to move our fingers
and thumb
- The tendons of our hands connect the muscles
to the bone and have a sheath surrounding them.
For our joints to be able to move, the tendons
glide freely within this sheath
- Our bones are held together and our tendons
held to the bones with numerous ligaments for
stabilization
All of these are in close proximity and often when
one structure is injured or painful, others are
also involved. Without all of these structures working
in unison, we are not able to perform our day-to-day
activities without various degrees of interference
or limitations. At Agape Therapy, our hand specialists
are trained to determine the source of the problem,
the secondary effects and treat them with an individualized
plan of care.
When is Hand Therapy a Good Idea?
You may require treatment after surgery, for conservative
management in order to avoid surgery or to assist
in the recovery from an injury. The treatment you
receive will be determined according to a detailed
evaluation and established protocols for your diagnosis.
An individualized plan of care will be developed
just for you, which will take into account your
specific needs. Your first session will be an initial
evaluation, when your specific plan of care can
be immediately established, with treatment initiated
on that first session.
How Can
Hand Therapy Help Me?
- Reducing inflammation and pain
- Influencing and minimizing scar formation
- Controlling edema or swelling
- Improving motion and flexibility
- Improving strength
- Improving fine motor and gross motor coordination
- Increasing functional use of your hand and
arm for use in everyday activities
Types of Diagnosis That Hand Therapists
Treat:
- Fractures
- Tendonitis
- Tendon repair/surgery
- Arthritis
- General or specific strengthening
- Neuromuscular diseases
- Pain syndromes
- Ligament repair/surgery
- Joint contractures and limited mobility
- Pain management
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| Agape
Therapy Incontinence Program |
Our program is based on 20 years
of research and treatment of individuals with incontinence,
or the lack of bladder control. It is a non-invasive
program composed of three components:
·
lifestyle changes,
·
physiological quieting,
·
four simple exercises referred to as the “Fabulous
Four” exercises.
The first component is lifestyle
changes, which will be incorporated into an individual’s
daily life to increase success in urinary control.
The second component, physiological
quieting, refers to the nervous system
as it relates to muscle balance, which is needed
to assist with managing incontinence. The third
component, Fabulous Four
exercises, addresses muscle weaknesses that impact
urinary control.
Our program is confidential and we treat all ages.
To start our program, it is recommended, but not
required, that you have a complete internal exam
by your physician. A referral from your physician
is needed for insurance coverage.
Not sure if this program is for you? Take this quiz
for help in deciding…
Bladder
Control Self Quiz
1. Do you have trouble getting to the bathroom in
time?
2. Do you wake up frequently at night with the need
to go to the bathroom?
3. Do you leak if you cough, sneeze, lift heavy
objects, or during any strenuous activity?
4. Do you wear pads just in case?
5. Do you have difficulty starting urination?
6. Do you ever avoid activities due to concerns
with incontinence?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions,
you may benefit from our program at Agape Therapy.
Contact Linda, at 277-3166 if you have any questions.
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| Driving
Aptitude Assessment |
Do you know if you are safe behind the
wheel? We can help.
Our driving aptitude assessment is
not an on-the-road test. It is an objective, in-clinic
test designed to assist with the difficult decision
if you or a loved one are safe to drive. A physician’s
referral is necessary for the service to be covered
by private insurance. It may be covered by Medicare
if it is part of, or establishes a treatment plan.
Why Test?
Your safety and the safety of the
community may be at risk. Individual testing is
necessary to obtain a thorough understanding of
each person’s abilities in order to determine
if it is safe to drive. You and the physician making
the decision may be protected from liability by
having objective data supporting the decision.
What is tested?
Testing is completed by a registered,
licensed Occupational Therapist. It normally lasts
between one and two hours. The test includes:
Visual Assessment
– acuity screening, visual field recognition,
scanning patterns, divided visual attention, and
processing time.
Visual Perception
– depth perception, visual closure, visual
memory, and position in space.
Motor
Skills - strength, coordination, and
range of motion.
Cognition
– memory, following directions, ability to
anticipate hazards, driving knowledge, thinking
skills, and percent of cognitive assistance needed.
Behavior –
impulsivity, frustration tolerance, attention span,
and distractibility.
What happens
after testing?
The results are available immediately
and may be shared with the person being tested.
They will include testing results and the recommendation
that will be made to the referring physician of
the person’s predicted driving ability. The
physician will be notified immediately of the results
of the testing, if desired. In addition, a written
report will be sent to the physician within five
working days. At that point the physician will determine
the person’s ability to continue to drive
and may forward that decision to the Iowa Department
of Transportation. |
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