{"id":2272,"date":"2019-09-10T04:42:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T08:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sinaipostacutecare.com\/?p=2272"},"modified":"2019-09-10T04:42:24","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T08:42:24","slug":"therapeutic-recreation-makes-anything-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sinaipostacutecare.com\/therapeutic-recreation-makes-anything-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Therapeutic Recreation Makes Anything Possible"},"content":{"rendered":"

When someone has a permanent injury or disability, it often seems like doors begin to close and opportunities dwindle, especially in the physical realm. After all, aren’t there severe limitations? But through therapeutic recreation, people can learn to overcome even severe physical limitations, doors can begin to open again, and opportunities can become boundless.<\/p>\n

What is therapeutic recreation?<\/h2>\n

Therapeutic recreation, also known as recreational therapy, is the process where people with physical disabilities engage in activities to improve their overall physical and mental health and functioning. These activities are overseen by a trained therapist, who often leads the program directly, so the patient knows that everything is safe and tailored toward a real recovery, and it’s more than merely a trial.<\/p>\n

Some of the more well-known therapeutic activities are sports, drama, music, and animal caretaking, but there are so many activities than can qualify as therapeutic recreation, and it\u2019s not a one-size-fits-all program; rather, it\u2019s a unique program for each individual, to meet her interests and see which activities will provide the most benefits cognitively, emotionally, and physically. <\/p>\n

Taking it to the top<\/h2>\n

While any form of therapeutic recreation is meant to help the patient in some way, some activities challenge them to accomplish the seemingly impossible. For example, rock climbing. Someone who has a physical disability may think that something as physically demanding as rock climbing is out of the question, but there are therapeutic recreation programs that offer rock climbing classes, as well as other physically challenging activities, for people with disabilities. These programs offer intense training for the patients as well as many adaptions to make it possible for these people to do the activities, so even someone with a physical disability can do pretty much anything he wants.<\/p>\n

Who is a recreational therapist?<\/h2>\n

A recreational therapist<\/a> does more than simply offer recreation for the patient. They\u2019re trained and certified to use a therapeutic model to help patients recover both physically and psychologically. So a music therapist, for example, uses music to improve a dementia patient\u2019s emotional well-being, and a sports therapist uses adaptive sports to improve the physical well-being of a patient with a serious physical injury. Therapist go through their own intensive training so they gain expertise in their field and how to use it toward recovery. These therapists generally work out of a program that offers different types of activities. Facilities such as Sinai Post Acute Care<\/a> Center for Rehabilitation offer therapeutic recreation as part of the rehabilitative process.<\/p>\n

Becoming the norm<\/h2>\n

The idea of therapeutic recreation has been around for decades, but the use of it has been exploding in recent years. The benefits are many:<\/p>\n