Services
Services
Our mission at Polaris Rehab is to provide our clients with an effective, personable, and exceptional Occupational Therapy (OT) experience to help them lead rich and meaningful lives, no matter their current circumstances
Whether it’s a one-off consultation, or if there are long-term goals to be achieved, the OTs at Polaris Rehab work diligently to help their clients navigate the complexities of the insurance system, streamline their rehabilitation needs, and achieve their goals in personable, effective, and collaborative manner.
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Physical Rehab
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Broken bones/fractures
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Soft tissue (ie. whiplash)
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Chronic pain
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Reduced activity and postural tolerances
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Ergonomics
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Adaptive equipment/aids
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Mobility aids
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Job demands analysis
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Aging in-place
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If you struggle with any of the below, an OT can help your recovery! These are just some examples, and by no means an exhaustive list:
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Difficulties getting on/off the toilet or in/out of your bath tub
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Troubles with dressing due to decreased range of motion or pain
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Difficulties with bed mobility
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Inability to complete household chores such as cleaning
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Troubles with meal prep due to your injuries
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General fatigue/pain making completion of your chores difficult
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Troubles with work due to muscle fatigue and pain
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Poor ergonomics, making it difficult to sit and complete school work or desk work
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Fear of falling and injuring yourself at home
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Mobility issues and difficulty getting to and from rehab and medical appointments
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Mental Health Rehab
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Depression
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Anxiety
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PTSD
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Social isolation
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Low mood and motivation
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Difficulty managing typical daily activities of life
If you struggle with any of the below, an OT can help your recovery! These are just some examples, and by no means an exhaustive list:
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Low mood
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Unhelpful thought patterns
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Negative self-talk
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Difficulty managing general symptoms of anxiety
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Challenges visiting certain places in the community due to past, anxiety-provoking incidences associated with that location(s)
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Repeated and intrusive thoughts and memories of a traumatic event
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Inability to keep up with personal-hygiene and/or household management tasks due to low motivation, feelings of overwhelm, or difficulty initiating the required tasks
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Propensity to socially isolate and stay inside your home
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Cognitive Rehab
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Concussion/Post-concussion syndrome
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Difficulty managing daily life
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Challenges with thinking/attention/memory
If you struggle with any of the below, an OT can help your recovery! These are just some examples, and by no means an exhaustive list:
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Sleep disturbances - difficulties staying or falling asleep
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Onset of headache, nausea, vomiting with increased activity, or when trying to complete typical activities of daily life
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Unsure if the symptoms you're experiencing are typical or not
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Difficulty remembering everyday things, such as appointments, keys, whether you've left the stove on
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Struggling to make it through all the tasks of the day due to fatigue and tiring more easily
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Difficulty reading text or doing work that requires looking at a computer screen
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Case Management
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Gradual return to work/school planning
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Advocating for your rehab funding needs with regards to supports and services
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Assistance with navigating through the various stages of your claim
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Coordinating rehab/care with other healthcare providers in a collaborative approach to optimize recovery potential
If you struggle with any of the below, an OT can help your recovery! These are just some examples, and by no means an exhaustive list:
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Feels like you aren't being heard by your case manager, with regards to your rehab needs
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Not confident in speaking to your employer with regards to workplace accommodations
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Struggling to get back to work after an injury, and unsure how to progress this on your own
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Need to attend rehab services but have no idea where or how to start looking for clinics
So, What Might This Look Like In Real Life?
Older Adult Struggling To Manage At Home (Physical Injury)
Marianne was living independently in her apartment without any difficulty. She has a son that lives not too far who sometimes drops off meals, but otherwise, she was able to grocery shop, prepare her own meals, and drive herself around her community. A few weeks ago, she was hit by a car while crossing a street. Since then, her hips, back, and legs have been in quite a bit of pain. She finds herself struggling to get in and out of bed, up from the toilet, and into and out of her bathtub for showers. She can barely stand long enough to make herself some toast or microwave food. Last week she nearly slipped when getting out of the bathtub. This close call has shaken her. Both her and her son are worried she is losing her independence, and is not safe at home. They think it is a matter of time before her next slip and fall, which may be more serious. However, they don’t know what the next steps are, and what services and treatment she should be looking for to make the situation better.
For a client like Marianne, an OT can assist with various strategies and education to enable her to better manage her symptoms, increase her functional ability and independence, and live at home safely. OTs can also advocate for additional rehab services to assist with Marianne's recovery, such as physiotherapy, counseling, active rehab, etc. and help her with getting these services setup. Additionally, OTs are able to recommend and assist with obtaining funding for adaptive equipment and aids to increase Marianne’s independence.
OTs can also provide a comprehensive home safety assessment of Marianne’s home. We focus on particularly common problem areas when it comes to safety and make recommendations for changes that can be made to better allow Marianne to live at home safely and independently. OTs can help recommend and source adaptive equipment to boost independence and function (ie. Marianne's ability to get on and off her toilet, shower safely, get out of her bed, etc.). If there are larger renovations or installations recommended, we work with the family members to find a way forward that strikes a balance between safety, client preference, and funding availability. Finally, OTs can connect the client with community resources that may be of assistance when it comes to transportation and meals.
Working Professional Struggling To Get Back To Work In The Office (Physical Injury)
Sarah is an accountant for one of the big firms downtown. She’s been doing this job for 10+ years and knows it inside and out. A few months ago, she had a car accident and went to rehab for whiplash type injuries to her neck, shoulders, and back. She was able to get back to work eventually but things have not been going very smooth. When she’s at her desk, she finds that by her first coffee break, her neck and shoulders are getting tight and sore. By lunch, they are quite painful and she finds her productivity starts to take a hit. By the end of the work day, she is in quite a bit of pain and all she can do is go home and try to mend herself before the next work day. She’s had to end her work day early on a number of occasions when her neck and shoulder pain became intolerable.
Despite it being “lighter” physical work compared to the trades, office work comes with its own set of structural restrictions that can contribute to pain, especially after whiplash type injuries to the neck, shoulders, and back. For a client like Sarah, a comprehensive ergonomic assessment of her work station setup (eg. chair, desk, computer monitor, peripherals, etc.) would be very beneficial. She would also benefit from ergonomic education, a review of her duties, and if there are ergonomic equipment or modifications/accommodations that can be made to reduce the pain, or delay its onset, OTs can advocate for these to the employer to help Sarah continue to perform at work. OTs can also provide education on pacing, energy conservation, body scanning, and advocate for additional rehab services to help with her physical deficits and associated pain.
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In fact, an ergonomic assessment can be very beneficial for any worker bound to their desk or computer for work, done as a preventative measure for occupational health and safety. Addressing poor ergonomics at the work desk is always easier and preferable than trying to fix a repetitive strain injury or nerve impingement from poor ergonomics. This helps to boost worker comfort and reduce risk of injury.
Adult Struggling With Symptoms Of Anxiety And Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Mental Health)
Adam is a 42 year old driver that was involved in fairly severe car accident. He was driving across the intersection in a green light when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a vehicle speeding towards him on the right of his car. Before he could react, his car was struck on the right side at high velocity. Adam got away without any broken bones, but his neck, shoulders, and back are really sore and painful, even months after the accident. What’s worse, he keeps reliving the events of the accident when he sleeps or when his mind wanders. The oncoming lights, the sirens after, and the wreckage left behind. He wakes up in sweats. The first time he drove through the intersection where his accident happened, he felt his heart start racing, a pain in his chest, and cold sweats. No matter what he tries to do, his mind can’t seem to escape the events of that night, and now months later, his anxiety has worsened such that he has difficulties getting into cars, let alone driving.
For a client like Adam, an OT can advocate and connect him with services to help address the trauma of the event and his deteriorating mental health (eg. registered clinical counselor, psychologist, etc.); OT services pair very well with other mental health supports. OTs can extend mental health management strategies into real-life settings, provide education on mood and anxiety management strategies, and conduct prolonged exposure therapy in the community to reduce the effect that the client’s past trauma has on their current everyday life.
Post-Secondary Student Trying To Manage Their Concussion Symptoms (Cognitive Injury)
Carlos is a second-year student at a local university. He’s worked hard in his first 2 years to keep his grades up, and has a well-balanced life outside of his studies. He goes out with friends on weekends, volunteers for a community group, and sometimes has time to go for drop-in volleyball with his classmates. At the start of this semester, he was involved in a car accident and was diagnosed with a concussion. While some of his physical pain has subsided with physiotherapy, he finds himself struggling with his thinking. Everytime he dives into his studies, he gets a pounding headache. Thinking takes much longer than before, and after reading a page he only remembers fragments of it. He has forgotten 2 assignments already and is really worried about upcoming midterm exams. Carlos is struggling with his post-concussion symptoms but doesn’t know what to do about it.
One of the common practice areas for OT is in brain injury. Concussions, a type of mild traumatic brain injury, can have significant repercussions for function no matter what stage of life a client is in. For a client like Carlos, an OT can provide education on concussions, common symptoms, physiology, and management strategies (eg. remedial and compensatory cognitive strategies, pacing, energy conservation, mindfulness/grounding, daily/weekly activity scheduling, sleep hygiene).
An OT can work collaboratively with students to find strategies to minimize the effect that these cognitive limitations have on their responsibilities so that they can improve upon their ability to perform academically, while they continue to heal. OTs can also help to liaise with the educational institution should academic accommodations be required. An ergonomic assessment is often helpful in these cases to allow the student to continue their studies while minimizing the pain in their neck, shoulders, and low back if whiplash or soft-tissue injuries have also been sustained.
Stalled Rehab Program, Can’t Get A Hold Of Her Adjuster, And Getting Pushed To Return To Work (Case Management)
Isabella was involved in a car accident and has been dealing with ICBC on her own up until now. She is growing more frustrated because it takes her adjuster weeks to reply emails, and phone calls go straight to voicemail. She is 6 months into her recovery, and adjusters have switched 2 times already. She questions how well this 3rd adjuster knows her case, as she is getting pushed to go back to work when her pain and function are still not at a level where she feels she would be able to do her job. It has been 3 weeks since she’s had any treatments because funding for physiotherapy and RMT had lapsed and her adjuster still hasn’t approved the treatment extension requests... she is at her wits end. Isabella is frustrated, angry, and exhausted.
For Isabella, the addition of an OT to her rehab team can assist with helping her to navigate the insurance system and communicate/advocate to ICBC on her behalf for rehab related matters. OTs can quarterback the rehab program and assist with communication between the client, the fee payer (ICBC), and the care team members so that the overall treatment plan is well coordinated.
Because OTs work across multiple types of injuries (ie. physical, cognitive, mental health), they are well positioned to assess Isabella in these various domains and are able to recommend bringing in other healthcare providers who might be helpful to her recovery. Furthermore, a major role of OTs is to help clients return to work successfully by structuring gradual return to work programs. In collaboration with the healthcare team, the client, and the employer, OTs ensure that the return-to-work plan is realistic, feasible, and above all... offers the greatest chance of success.