File:Dr. Barbara Kornblau Discusses the 5 Ways Occupational Therapists Treat Pain

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Barbara Kornblau, JD, OTR/L, Professor, School of Health Professions and Studies University of Michigan, Flint, Michigan, discusses the five things occupational therapists do to treat pain patients.

Dr. Kornblau says that occupational therapists look at how people function in their daily lives. The University of Illinois in Chicago defines this as an "activity audit." Occupational therapists will look at the activities that people perform during the day to determine what changes may need to be made.

When dealing with patients in pain, Dr. Kornblau says the "activity audit" becomes even more important. An occupational therapist should determine how a patient spends their time, what kinds of things they're doing, if they need to take breaks, and if they're overdoing or under-doing it.

Dr. Kornblau says that occupational therapists work with patients to teach them to look at their activities to determine what increases their pain, and then work with the patient to alter behaviors to reduce pain.

She says one of the goals is to increase participation, because the World Health Organization looks at participation as a measure of health.