Accessibility Tools
Hide

What is the Difference Between Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy?

Many patients are confused when it comes to the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy. Both can be helpful to you after an injury or surgery or if you are struggling with the activities of daily living.

What does an Occupational Therapist do?

Well, we don’t help people find jobs. That’s a common misconception. No, we actually help patients with injuries, illnesses, or disabilities function in day-to-day life. An occupational therapist focuses on rehabilitating people to live normal lives after an accident or other situation that causes their body to function differently from the norm. This can include people who have experienced an injury or those who have a developmental or intellectual disability.

Difference Between Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy

The main difference between occupational and physical therapy is the focus of treatment. PT primarily focuses on rehabilitating the body part that was injured while OT works holistically to help the patient perform activities of daily living. Occupational therapists still help to improve range of motion and strength, but we do this so patients are better able to perform daily tasks. Occupational therapists treat the whole person rather than just the injury or impairment. In some cases a patient may start with a physical therapist and then continue working with an occupational therapist.

How are OT and PT similar?

While there is a difference between occupational and physical therapy, the fields do have some overlapping areas of treatment including:

  • Educating on the prevention of injury
  • Educating on the healing process
  • Delivering hands-on rehabilitative care

What makes the OTs at Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group unique?

At Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group, we specialize in occupational therapy for the upper extremities. This means we help people who are struggling with hand, wrist, arm, and elbow issues.

  • We teach you how to get as much use out of these limbs as possible
  • We help you increase mobility and dexterity
  • We help you recover to full health after an injury
  • We work in conjunction with the CSOG hand, elbow, and nerve doctors to improve results after surgery
  • We specialize in custom splinting

You can find more information on our website, www.csog.net, or check out www.otpotential.com for information, resources, and tips.

Click here to find Physical Therapy Near Me and Occupational Therapy Near Me

How Can You Reach CSOG Center
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Send a Referral
  • Send Medical Records
    Powershare Image Upload
  • Additional Inquires
Colorado Springs Locations
Orthopaedic Care Across Colorado Springs

Visit CSOG at convenient locations for specialty care, Express Care, imaging, therapy, and recovery support.

North Campus

4110 Briargate Parkway
Suite 300
Colorado Springs, CO 80920

Mon - Thu : 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
Fri : 7:00 am to 4:00 pm

Schedule an Appointment
South Campus

1655 Quail Lake Loop
Colorado Springs, CO 80906

Mon - Thu : 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
Fri : 7:00 am to 4:00 pm

Schedule an Appointment
East Campus

6140 Tutt Blvd
Suite 110
Colorado Springs, CO 80923

Mon - Fri : 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Schedule an Appointment
Ready to Take the Next Step Toward Better Movement?

Whether you are dealing with a new injury, chronic pain, arthritis, or recovery after surgery, CSOG can help you find the right orthopaedic care path.

001 
SET 
    NAMES "utf8mb4" COLLATE "utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
FileFunctionLine
/home/csogy/public_html/database/Zebra_Database.phpquery()3907
/home/csogy/public_html/helpers/functions.phpset_charset()42
/home/csogy/public_html/models/YpoDatabase.phpgetConnection()22
/home/csogy/public_html/models/Provider.php__construct()27
/home/csogy/public_html/configs/common.php__construct()182
/home/csogy/public_html/common/common.phprequire_once()5
/home/csogy/public_html/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.phprequire_once()3
002 
SELECT 
    DISTINCT T.* 
FROM 
    cs_page_alerts T 
    LEFT JOIN cs_page_alerts_page_urls PU ON (
        PU.page_alert_id = T.id 
        AND T.is_global = 0
    ) 
WHERE 
    T.status = '1' 
    AND (
        PU.page_url = 'https://csog.ypo.pw/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/' 
        OR T.is_global = 1
    ) 
ORDER BY 
    T.is_global ASC, 
    T.id DESC
idselect_typetablepartitionstypepossible_keyskeykey_lenrefrowsfilteredExtra
1SIMPLETALL333.33Using where; Using temporary; Using filesort
1SIMPLEPUALL3100.00Using where; Distinct; Using join buffer (hash join)
FileFunctionLine
/home/csogy/public_html/models/YpoDatabase.phpquery()47
/home/csogy/public_html/models/PageAlert.phprawQuery()67
/home/csogy/public_html/models/PageAlert.phpgetCurrentPageAlerts()76
/home/csogy/public_html/configs/common.phpgetCurrentPageAlertsGrouped()185
/home/csogy/public_html/common/common.phprequire_once()5
/home/csogy/public_html/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.phprequire_once()3
003 
SELECT 
    COUNT(DISTINCT p.id) AS num 
FROM 
    cs_providers p 
    INNER JOIN cs_provider_type pt ON FIND_IN_SET(pt.id, p.provider_type) > 0 
    LEFT JOIN cs_provider_specialties ps ON ps.provider_id = p.id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_specialties sp ON sp.id = ps.specialty_id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_provider_locations pl ON pl.provider_id = p.id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_locations l ON l.id = pl.location_id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_provider_certifications c ON c.provider_id = p.id 
WHERE 
    1 
    AND p.status = 1 
    AND FIND_IN_SET('1', p.provider_type) > 0
num
17
idselect_typetablepartitionstypepossible_keyskeykey_lenrefrowsfilteredExtra
1SIMPLEptindexPRIMARY46100.00Using index
1SIMPLEpALL9110.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
1SIMPLEpsALL80100.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
1SIMPLEspeq_refPRIMARYPRIMARY4csogy_csog_db.ps.specialty_id1100.00Using index
1SIMPLEplALL153100.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
1SIMPLEleq_refPRIMARYPRIMARY4csogy_csog_db.pl.location_id1100.00Using index
1SIMPLEcALL78100.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
FileFunctionLine
/home/csogy/public_html/models/YpoDatabase.phpquery()68
/home/csogy/public_html/models/Provider.phprawQuerySingle()146
/home/csogy/public_html/includes/sidebar.phpgetListOfRecords()4
/home/csogy/public_html/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.phprequire_once()74
004 
SELECT 
    p.id, 
    p.first_name, 
    p.last_name, 
    p.short_title, 
    p.photo, 
    p.status, 
    pt.type AS provider_type, 
    pt.sh_name, 
    p.degree, 
    p.designation, 
    p.slug, 
    p.review_url, 
    GROUP_CONCAT(
        DISTINCT CONCAT(
            sp.id, '//*//', sp.slug, '//*//', sp.specialty_name
        ) 
        ORDER BY 
            sp.specialty_name SEPARATOR ', '
    ) AS specialties, 
    GROUP_CONCAT(
        DISTINCT l.location_name 
        ORDER BY 
            l.location_name SEPARATOR '  '
    ) AS locations, 
    GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT c.certificate_type) as c_type 
FROM 
    cs_providers p 
    INNER JOIN cs_provider_type pt ON FIND_IN_SET(pt.id, p.provider_type) > 0 
    LEFT JOIN cs_provider_specialties ps ON ps.provider_id = p.id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_specialties sp ON sp.id = ps.specialty_id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_provider_locations pl ON pl.provider_id = p.id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_locations l ON l.id = pl.location_id 
    LEFT JOIN cs_provider_certifications c ON c.provider_id = p.id 
WHERE 
    1 
    AND p.status = 1 
    AND FIND_IN_SET('1', p.provider_type) > 0 
GROUP BY 
    p.id 
ORDER BY 
    p.last_name ASC 
LIMIT 
    0, 100
idfirst_namelast_nameshort_titlephotostatusprovider_typesh_namedegreedesignationslugreview_urlspecialtieslocationsc_type
24DouglasAdams, MDDouglas Adams, MDdouglas-adams-md-1784632621.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained and Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeondouglas-adams-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=15650531//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 17//*//sports-medicine//*//Sports MedicineNorth Campus South Campus,Memberships & Board Certification
26TylerBron, MDTyler Bron, MDtyler-bron-md-1784652250.png1DoctorMDMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeontyler-bron-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=12636832//*//arthritis-disease-management//*//Arthritis Disease Management, 31//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 14//*//hip//*//Hip, 23//*//joint-replacement//*//Joint Replacement, 15//*//knee//*//Knee, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South Campus
27DaleCassidy, MD, MBADale Cassidy, MD, MBAdale-cassidy-md-1784652284.png1DoctorMDMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeondale-cassidy-md-mbahttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=57131//*//hand-wrist//*//Hand & WristNorth Campus South Campus,Board Certified,Memberships
28Brad D.Dresher, MDBrad D. Dresher, MDbrad-d-dresher-md-1784567275.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonbrad-d-dresher-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=571416//*//foot-ankle//*//Foot Ankle, 31//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South CampusBoard Certified
29MichaelFeign, DOMichael Feign, DOmichael-feign-do-1784567177.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonmichael-feign-dohttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=13889431//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 14//*//hip//*//Hip, 23//*//joint-replacement//*//Joint Replacement, 15//*//knee//*//Knee, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South CampusBoard Certified
30D. AlexForrester, MDD. Alex Forrester, MDd-alex-forrester-md-1784567112.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeond-alex-forrester-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=15481332//*//arthritis-disease-management//*//Arthritis Disease Management, 31//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 14//*//hip//*//Hip, 23//*//joint-replacement//*//Joint Replacement, 15//*//knee//*//Knee, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South Campus,Memberships
31Jamie L.Friedman, MDJamie L. Friedman, MDjamie-l-friedman-md-1784567065.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonjamie-l-friedman-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=13536631//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 15//*//knee//*//Knee, 4//*//shoulder//*//Shoulder, 17//*//sports-medicine//*//Sports Medicine, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South Campus,Memberships & Board Certification,Team Physician (2019-2020)
32Eric K.Jepson, DOEric K. Jepson, DOeric-k-jepson-do-1784567040.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeoneric-k-jepson-dohttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=571832//*//arthritis-disease-management//*//Arthritis Disease Management, 31//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 14//*//hip//*//Hip, 23//*//joint-replacement//*//Joint Replacement, 15//*//knee//*//Knee, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South CampusAwards,Board Certified
124ChristopherMalinky, MDChristopher Malinky, MDdr-malinky-1789030532.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Physicianchristopher-malinky-md18//*//pain-management//*//Pain Management, 13//*//spine//*//SpineSouth Campus
121BenjaminMeyer, DOBenjamin Meyer, DObenjamin-meyer-do-1787569723.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonbenjamin-meyer-do17//*//sports-medicine//*//Sports MedicineNorth Campus South Campus
125BrendanMitchell, MDBrendan Mitchell, MDdr-brendan-mitchell-1790581119.jpg1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Eligible Orthopedic Surgeonbrendan-mitchell-md13//*//spine//*//SpineNorth Campus South Campus
33John C.Redfern, MDJohn C. Redfern, MDjohn-c-redfern-md-1784566994.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonjohn-c-redfern-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=572231//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 4//*//shoulder//*//Shoulder, 17//*//sports-medicine//*//Sports Medicine, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South CampusAwards,Board Certified,Membership
34G. AlexSimpson, DOG. Alex Simpson, DOg-alex-simpson-do-1784566965.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeong-alex-simpson-dohttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=13889616//*//foot-ankle//*//Foot Ankle, 31//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 33//*//trauma-fracture-care//*//Trauma & Fracture CareNorth Campus South Campus
35PaulStanton, DOPaul Stanton, DOpaul-stanton-do-1784566764.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonpaul-stanton-dohttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=572313//*//spine//*//SpineNorth Campus South Campus,Board Certified,Membership
36Roger D.Sung, MDRoger D. Sung, MDroger-d-sung-md-1784566737.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonroger-d-sung-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=572636//*//alternative-therapy-treatments//*//Alternative Therapy Treatments, 35//*//image-guided-surgery-stealth-x-vision//*//Image Guided Surgery (Stealth, X-Vision), 13//*//spine//*//SpineNorth Campus South CampusBoard Certified
37MichaelVan Manen, DOMichael Van Manen, DOmichael-van-manen-do-1784566704.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeonmichael-van-manen-dohttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=14958132//*//arthritis-disease-management//*//Arthritis Disease Management, 31//*//general-orthopedics//*//General Orthopedics, 14//*//hip//*//Hip, 23//*//joint-replacement//*//Joint Replacement, 15//*//knee//*//KneeNorth Campus South CampusBoard Certified
39CraigYager, MDCraig A. Yager, MDcraig-a-yager-md-1784566587.png1DoctorMDFellowship Trained & Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeoncraig-a-yager-mdhttps://iframe.socialclime.com/iframe/a1f9f627-392e-4f62-a0ec-2c9ffa2ddac3/reviews?doc=13884234//*//orthopedic-surgery//*//Orthopedic Surgery, 4//*//shoulder//*//Shoulder, 17//*//sports-medicine//*//Sports MedicineNorth Campus South Campus,Board Certified,Membership
idselect_typetablepartitionstypepossible_keyskeykey_lenrefrowsfilteredExtra
1SIMPLEptALL6100.00Using temporary; Using filesort
1SIMPLEpALLPRIMARY9110.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
1SIMPLEpsALL80100.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
1SIMPLEspeq_refPRIMARYPRIMARY4csogy_csog_db.ps.specialty_id1100.00
1SIMPLEplALL153100.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
1SIMPLEleq_refPRIMARYPRIMARY4csogy_csog_db.pl.location_id1100.00
1SIMPLEcALL78100.00Using where; Using join buffer (hash join)
FileFunctionLine
/home/csogy/public_html/models/YpoDatabase.phpquery()47
/home/csogy/public_html/models/Provider.phprawQuery()156
/home/csogy/public_html/includes/sidebar.phpgetListOfRecords()4
/home/csogy/public_html/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.phprequire_once()74
001
$_REQUEST 
array (
)
001
$_POST 
array (
)
001
$_GET 
array (
)
001
$_SESSION 
array (
)
001
$_COOKIE 
array (
)
001
$_FILES 
array (
)
001
$_SERVER 
array (
  'USER' => 'csogy',
  'HOME' => '/home/csogy',
  'SCRIPT_NAME' => '/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.php',
  'REQUEST_URI' => '/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/',
  'QUERY_STRING' => '',
  'REQUEST_METHOD' => 'GET',
  'SERVER_PROTOCOL' => 'HTTP/2.0',
  'GATEWAY_INTERFACE' => 'CGI/1.1',
  'REDIRECT_URL' => '/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/',
  'REMOTE_PORT' => '30550',
  'SCRIPT_FILENAME' => '/home/csogy/public_html/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.php',
  'SERVER_ADMIN' => 'webmaster@csog.ypo.pw',
  'CONTEXT_DOCUMENT_ROOT' => '/home/csogy/public_html',
  'CONTEXT_PREFIX' => '',
  'REQUEST_SCHEME' => 'https',
  'DOCUMENT_ROOT' => '/home/csogy/public_html',
  'REMOTE_ADDR' => '216.73.216.171',
  'SERVER_PORT' => '443',
  'SERVER_ADDR' => '172.31.81.87',
  'SERVER_NAME' => 'csog.ypo.pw',
  'SERVER_SOFTWARE' => 'Apache',
  'SERVER_SIGNATURE' => '',
  'PATH' => '/usr/local/jdk/bin:/usr/kerberos/sbin:/usr/kerberos/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/root/bin:/opt/bin',
  'HTTP_X_HTTPS' => '1',
  'HTTP_HOST' => 'csog.ypo.pw',
  'HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING' => 'gzip, br, zstd, deflate',
  'HTTP_USER_AGENT' => 'Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)',
  'HTTP_ACCEPT' => '*/*',
  'proxy-nokeepalive' => '1',
  'H2_STREAM_TAG' => '1922844-609-9',
  'H2_STREAM_ID' => '9',
  'H2_PUSHED_ON' => '',
  'H2_PUSHED' => '',
  'H2_PUSH' => 'off',
  'H2PUSH' => 'off',
  'HTTP2' => 'on',
  'SSL_TLS_SNI' => 'csog.ypo.pw',
  'HTTPS' => 'on',
  'GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS' => '/home/csogy/public_html/mobileapp/notifications/config/firebase-service-account.json',
  'HTTP_AUTHORIZATION' => '',
  'SCRIPT_URI' => 'https://csog.ypo.pw/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/',
  'SCRIPT_URL' => '/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/',
  'UNIQUE_ID' => 'avj-awC7ojUlkocvPDubTwABDxc',
  'REDIRECT_STATUS' => '200',
  'REDIRECT_H2_STREAM_TAG' => '1922844-609-9',
  'REDIRECT_H2_STREAM_ID' => '9',
  'REDIRECT_H2_PUSHED_ON' => '',
  'REDIRECT_H2_PUSHED' => '',
  'REDIRECT_H2_PUSH' => 'off',
  'REDIRECT_H2PUSH' => 'off',
  'REDIRECT_HTTP2' => 'on',
  'REDIRECT_SSL_TLS_SNI' => 'csog.ypo.pw',
  'REDIRECT_HTTPS' => 'on',
  'REDIRECT_GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS' => '/home/csogy/public_html/mobileapp/notifications/config/firebase-service-account.json',
  'REDIRECT_HTTP_AUTHORIZATION' => '',
  'REDIRECT_SCRIPT_URI' => 'https://csog.ypo.pw/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/',
  'REDIRECT_SCRIPT_URL' => '/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy/',
  'REDIRECT_UNIQUE_ID' => 'avj-awC7ojUlkocvPDubTwABDxc',
  'FCGI_ROLE' => 'RESPONDER',
  'PHP_SELF' => '/difference-between-occupational-physical-therapy.php',
  'REQUEST_TIME_FLOAT' => 1794702955.249454021453857421875,
  'REQUEST_TIME' => 1794702955,
  'argv' => 
  array (
  ),
  'argc' => 0,
)
4 / 0