You may have been admitted to the hospital to recover from a broken leg, a heart attack or appendicitis. Along with the specific medical treatments you receive for your condition, your doctor may order a number of other services that appear unrelated. These services are important for getting you ready to get back into your daily life routines. The following services help your mind and body prepare for your return home.

Physical Therapy

This is a common service ordered if you're in the hospital for a bone or muscle issue. Muscles in your leg atrophy as a leg fracture heals. Physical therapy strengthens those muscles so you can walk again when the bone has mended. There are two other important reasons for physical therapy - muscle retraining and circulation improvement.

With some medical conditions, such as a back injury or a stroke, certain muscle groups are weakened and can't support your body like they should. To compensate for that, other muscles in your body will take over some of the functions of the weakened muscles. Once the cause of the back pain is resolved or you've recovered from the stroke, these muscle substitutes don't always relinquish their roles back to the original muscles. Physical therapy can retrain your muscles to take back their original functions.

Physical therapy is also ordered for patients that are getting treatment that keeps them in bed most of the time. This therapy helps you keep your muscle tone and increases the circulation. This reduces the risk of blood clots and pneumonia, both common problems with long-term bed rest.

Recreational Therapy

This therapy consists of such activities as music, dance, crafts, art and sports, but it is more than just play time. These activities challenge the mind by getting it to problem solve and use the imagination. They exercise your motor skills and ability to work with details. They are performed in a group setting to build up your social skills.

Recreational therapy helps you build confidence and develop coping skills as you experiment with different activities. Painting, pottery and dance challenge different parts of you, physically and mentally, so you'll be better prepared for the challenges of your daily tasks at home.

Occupational Therapy

While recreational therapy uses fun activities to stimulate the mind and body, occupational therapy works on those core skills you use in your daily activities. Getting dressed in the morning, eating a meal, and even just opening a bottle are challenging depending on the medical condition. Severe arthritis in your hands may require learning how to hold a fork again or open a can of soup. Where needed, occupational therapists can offer special devices to make these tasks easier. A strap that goes around the hand to help hold a fork is one example.

The goal of this therapy is to help you be more independent when you get home. Learning how to roll to the side and position your legs correctly to get yourself out of bed makes it easier to take care of yourself. Simple devices, such as a stick with a hook at one end to help put your pants on, mean you'll rely less on a caregiver once you go home from the hospital.

These three services may be used alone or together to prepare you to leave the hospital and meet the challenges of everyday life. When the treatment of your medical condition has completed, you'll be ready to go home confident that you can step back into your life's routine. Visit RecCare Inc for more information about recreational therapy.