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How Occupational Therapy Improves Motor Coordination

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Motor coordination is your natural ability to be able to control your body without actually thinking about what you are doing. People with amazing motor coordination can perform acrobatic stunts, whereas someone with poor motor coordination may have difficulty keeping balance, holding small or using small objects, or even just walking.

There are two ways that motor coordination can diminish:

  • Injury: A serious injury to a particular part of the body, especially one that affects the nerves, muscles, and bones of the region, can instantly and greatly reduce motor coordination. For example, someone who suffers a shoulder injury could have trouble using the entire arm.
  • Aging: It is natural for motor coordination to start to decrease as the years go on. Every part of our body runs into trouble sooner or later as we age, so it makes sense for motor coordination to also be affected.

A decrease in motor coordination is not irreversible. Through occupational therapy sessions and short-term rehabilitation that targets affected areas of the body, it is possible to begin to restore motor coordination.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Put simply, occupational therapy is rehabilitative exercises that mimic everyday activities. For example, if a person worked in an office and typed on a keyboard all day but broke their hands in a car accident, their occupational therapy sessions would target the hands to restore the ability to type without pain.

Occupational therapy is very effective at restoring motor coordination because it can trigger a form of muscle memory in the patient. Rather than needing to learn a new skill, they just have to relearn one they had previously mastered. Subconsciously, this makes it easier for the mind to reconnect with the body and regain control of it. This practice is especially effective for elders, who cannot reasonably be expected to undergo surgery, begin a medicinal regimen, or complete strenuous exercises.

If you want to learn more about occupational therapy or motor coordination, feel free to contact King Street Rehab. People all throughout New York and Connecticut come to our Westchester County rehab center for a variety of treatments. We are sure we can find one that works for you and your rehabilitative needs.

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