Energy conservation techniques are frequently employed with respiratory patients who use daily or as needed oxygen therapy. Oxygen desaturation can result in symptoms including increased fatigue, discoloration of skin pigmentation, breathlessness and nausea.
Occupational therapists can provide individuals with strategies to help reduce fatigue. These may include decreasing tasks, prioritizing activities, scheduling regular rest periods and making home modifications or providing adaptive equipment as necessary.
Planning & Prioritizing
People living with multiple sclerosis (MS) can often struggle with fatigue and energy deficit, yet it’s possible to conserve energy through some straightforward practices that may reduce fatigue and enhance quality of daily life for people living with MS.
Physical or occupational therapists can assist patients in adopting energy conservation techniques into their everyday routine, including planning and prioritizing activities, altering task speeds to save energy, resting during activity periods, and learning to use adaptive equipment.
Planned approach can make tasks simpler to achieve while decreasing stress levels and helping avoid unnecessary discomfort or injury. Planning is a higher-order cognitive skill that involves thinking ahead and comprehending what needs to be accomplished – an OT can show you how to organize and prioritize activities so they are completed as efficiently as possible.
Therapists can not only assist their patients in creating an effective strategy to manage fatigue, but can also offer advice for managing MS symptoms that cause discomfort and pain. A physical therapist (PT or OT) may teach patients to use breathing strategies when performing MS-related activities and recommend long-handled dressing tools, front closure tops with snaps or elastic shoelaces as ways to help minimize bending or reaching for activities.
Energy conservation is even more essential for patients suffering from COPD, since excessive movement may result in oxygen desaturation that could potentially prove life-threatening. As such, occupational therapists use education and training techniques like safe transfer techniques to reduce the amount of movement necessary to perform daily tasks. Additionally, they can advise on adaptive equipment and assistive devices to reduce strain on the body when performing ADLs, such as tub benches or shower chairs to help avoid having to bend over or reach for items during bathing; long-handled dressing tools are helpful when dressing; while an elevated toilet seat eliminates standing up throughout the day.
Staying Active
How we approach daily tasks can have an enormous effect on energy levels. An occupational or physical therapist can show you techniques for accomplishing them more efficiently to conserve more energy while decreasing strain on your body. They may teach techniques like task prioritization, activity logs for tracking fatigue patterns and assistive equipment that enhance quality of life.
One of the key strategies for energy conservation is learning to take breaks throughout your day and rest your batteries, whether that means taking a momentary pause from daily activity and just sitting or lying down for a few minutes to recharge them or spacing out activities over a longer period of time; such as, rather than doing all your chores in one go on one day and scheduling rest days as needed throughout each week.
Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists can also teach you ways to adapt your environment in order to save more energy. For instance, using a scooter or cane instead of walking can save more energy while decreasing joint strain.
An excellent energy conservation technique is to eat light meals and stay hydrated regularly, which will help your blood sugar remain balanced while also avoiding dehydration, both of which are known to contribute to fatigue.
If you’re feeling exhausted and uncomfortable, speaking to your physician can be helpful in finding solutions. They may suggest medication such as methylphenidate, modafinil or amantadine to address symptoms; however these are only short-term solutions and it would be more beneficial if you practice energy conservation techniques instead. Conserving energy will give you more energy to spend enjoying everyday activities and have you feeling much better overall! Try these strategies out today to conserve more of it and see the difference; keep moving but move smarter! Happy living! – Aimee
Taking Breaks
Those living with COPD must find ways to conserve energy throughout the day in order to remain at peak performance. Since oxygen cannot easily reach your lungs and feed muscles, completing even routine tasks may seem draining and fatigued-inducing.
Physical and occupational therapists may offer various energy conservation techniques to combat fatigue. They may help plan your daily schedule, prioritize tasks so they are completed more quickly, avoid unnecessary trips or alternate between light and heavy tasks to protect from injury or overexertion, among other strategies.
Energy conservation techniques also include decreasing the intensity of daily activities, scheduling frequent rest breaks and adapting work locations and equipment to be more ergonomically friendly. Many of these changes can be implemented at home with assistance from physical therapists or occupational therapists who will help find tools and techniques suitable for managing daily tasks more easily.
Documenting your efforts and successes when employing these strategies is essential to maximizing the benefits. For instance, if completing a task which was previously taxing is now simple is worth noting – then use it as the basis of future conversations with healthcare teams.
CEUFast Inc. has approved this course for 0.1 CEUs at intermediate level (OT service delivery and foundational knowledge) from CEUFast Inc. as accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Registered nurses seeking continuing education must also contact their nursing regulatory body for approval within their specific jurisdiction.
Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep is essential to keeping your body strong and healthy, reducing fatigue, improving mood and supporting memory retention and focus. Sleep also plays a key role in decreasing pain intensity and illness frequency – so if you are having difficulty sleeping talk to a physical therapist and/or occupational therapist about strategies that could improve its quality.
Senior adults face falls and related injuries that can significantly diminish their quality of life, but occupational therapists (OTs) can teach strategies to prevent falls and increase energy levels, including pacing activities, prioritizing tasks, using assistive equipment as needed and taking breaks when necessary. They may also teach safe transfers and body mechanics techniques designed to protect joints and muscles from injury.
People living with COPD often experience fatigue that makes daily tasks challenging to complete. Energy conservation techniques can be extremely beneficial in staying on top of responsibilities, increasing productivity, and ultimately leading to a higher quality of life. Your loved one will learn how to pace themselves during activities such as chores and errands while alternating light and heavy tasks; also being taught to plan ahead for daily tasks to avoid unnecessary trips and begin with the most critical one first!
As well as using energy conservation techniques, physical or occupational therapists can assist patients in managing their symptoms with medication or non-pharmacologic treatments such as acupuncture and relaxation strategies. These may be used alone or combined with energy conservation techniques to manage symptoms more effectively. OTs also teach strategies designed to manage fatigue for advanced disease states like ALS, cancer or dementia so individuals can continue performing daily activities, improve quality of life and preserve independence.
Hospice patients typically face limited life expectancies and often struggle to engage in any meaningful activities that would maintain or improve their quality of life and reduce frustration with daily responsibilities. Occupational Therapists (OTs) can use energy conservation techniques to ensure hospice patients only engage in activities which offer real value, maintaining quality of life while meeting daily responsibilities more satisfactorily.
