Let’s Get Functional: Occupational Therapy’s Role in Lower-Limb Rehabilitation
Kristin E. Nalivaika, OTD, OTR/L
January 1, 2026
How many times have you heard that physical therapy is for the legs and occupational therapy is for the arms? Or how about this one: “OT? You mean overtime?” Or my personal favorite: “Occupational therapy? I don’t need a job!” Like O&P clinicians, the role of the occupational therapist (OT) can be misunderstood by the public. According to the 2024 Government Accountability Office’s report on Rehabilitation Services and Outcomes for Medicare Beneficiaries, 89 percent of those with lower-limb amputations received occupational therapy services compared to 97 percent who received physical therapy.1 This means more than 3,500 Medicare beneficiaries with a lower-limb amputation who received physical therapy did not receive occupational therapy.
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