What Are the Differences Between an Occupational Therapist, a Physical Therapist, and a Physiatrist?

by Edu-Tourist

Question by klliy24: What are the differences between an Occupational Therapist, a Physical Therapist, and a Physiatrist?
I understand they all work in the field of rehabilitation and often together as a team. The schooling for each one is very different, much longer for a Physiatrist because they go through medical school and residencies. But how do they differ for everyday tasks and their roles to the patient?

Best answer:

Answer by david o
An occupational therapist helps you get a job. A physical therapist tries to heal you after being hurt on the job so you can go back to the job. A psychiatrist helps you try to figure why you took the job as a bungee jumper in the first place.

Answer by mistify
The differences between a PT and OT are slight to the untrained eye. They both focus on restoration of movement and function. The differences go beyond the following statement, but this is probably the easiest way to sum it up. OT focuses on fine motor and cognitive skills which help people regain the ability to do day to day tasks such as buttoning a shirt, writing a check, driving a car, etc. PT focuses on more gross motor skills such as walking, balance, etc. PT and OT are both careers that require at least a master’s degree, but PT is quickly transitioning to a doctorate level degree (DPT).

A physiatrist, on the other hand, is a medical doctor who has a speciality in rehabilitative medicine. Many people think these are PTs with a medical degree. This isn’t true, they focus on MEDICAL treatments to supplement the rehabilitative process. For instance, they may prescribe baclofen for the management of spasticity, they may perform trigger point injections as part of a pain management program. They do not perform rehabilitative “therapies.” They are medical doctors.

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