Adult Occupational Therapy - Upper Body Training - Fabrication Enterprises Retail Sales Corp.

As people grow older, so do their bodies. While one may perceive one’s self as healthy, some health issues can be beyond one’s control. For example, one such issue could be a stroke. After an individual has had a stroke their fine motor functions may be limited and they may require assistance performing daily tasks while they recover. Occupational Therapy may be part of that recovery treatment.

Upper body training is one service that Occupational Therapists (OT) provide to individuals in need of therapy after a stroke. Part of an OT’s job is to provide exercises that can improve his or her patient’s performance in doing everyday tasks.

Some exercises an OT provide may seem like they wouldn’t be beneficial, however, these seemingly non-functional tasks can produce a greatly functional outcome. An OT will combine traditional weighted exercises with therapeutic activities to improve muscle strength and endurance. In performing these activities patients will also improve skills in problem solving, safety, balance, and direction following.

Below we’ve listed some common upper body training exercises that OTs provide to their patients:

Ball Toss

Tossing a ball is recommended by OTs to strengthen muscles and increase range of motion. It may seem like a child’s task, however, as the patient progresses he or she will graduate to using heavier hand balls that will provide significant total body strength training.

Fine Motor Activities

Ever stick a put a peg into a hole, or twist a bolt? As a way to improve movement in performing tasks like these, an OT will have the patient perform these tasks with a weighted cuff on his or her wrist. This will increase strength and muscle endurance. Standing while performing these activities will improve balance, preventing the risk of a fall. It’s highly likely an OT will also make use of exercise putty during the rehabilitation process. Working a Puttycise tool, like the Peg Turn tool, through exercise putty, such as TheraPutty®, can be used to simulate turning a bolt, pushing a button or picking up a pen.

Arm Bike

OTs will commonly have patients use an arm pedal exerciser to improve arm strength. As strength improves, the OT will increase the pedal resistance. This activity, in time, will improve walking balance as it simulates the opposing arm movement that occurs while walking.

Functional Activities

Once arm muscles are strengthened, then an OT will recommend exercises that relate more to functional tasks. One such task may be folding laundry. This action, combined with using a wrist weight, improves muscle strength and endurance.

Performing these activities will better prepare a person to physically participate in everyday life activities like getting dressed or preparing a meal. Below we’ve listed some of the many products FEI Retail offers that aid OTs in performing these upper body activities.

If you have received occupational therapy, chances are you’ve used one or more of the products above. Upper body exercises are just one of a vast variety of activities OTs provide. Click here to learn more about occupational therapy exercises.