5 Types of Occupational Therapy Interventions for Balance

Occupational therapy is a powerful tool for addressing balance challenges in older adults, allowing them to carry out crucial daily tasks with greater ease and confidence. 

These interventions focus on real-life applications of balance, helping older adults build strength, improve coordination, and foster independence.

1. Dynamic balance during basic ADLs 
2. Dynamic balance during instrumental ADLs 
3. Recreational activities addressing standing and sitting balance
4. Dynamic sitting balance during basic ADLs 
5. Dynamic sitting balance during instrumental ADLs

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy (OT) is a component of health care that aims to improve people’s ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) with greater ease, confidence, and safety by addressing any physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges they may face. 

This is a holistic approach that considers a person’s unique goals and needs. Occupational therapists work closely with residents to create personalized treatment plans that incorporate a variety of therapeutic activities and exercises. 

As people grow older, they may face challenges like decreased mobility and strength as well as issues with balance. Such declines can affect their ability to perform daily tasks like personal grooming and meal preparation and may limit their ability to participate in social activities. 

5 Occupational Therapy Interventions for Balance

To maintain a comfortable and supportive environment for everyone involved, it’s important to meet seniors at their unique physical and mobility levels to make sessions more inclusive. 

• Adjust the complexity: Begin by simplifying exercises for those with limited mobility. For instance, use lighter weights or reduce the reach distance during reaching practices. Gradually increase the complexity as mobility improves. 
• Use adaptive equipment: Introduce adaptive tools such as stable chairs with armrests, grab bars, or supportive harnesses to help maintain balance or reduce strain for additional support.
• Provide alternate positions: For those unable to stand, many dynamic balance exercises can be adapted to a seated position. Engaging in seated-reaching tasks or using stationary bicycles can help maintain fitness while respecting physical limitations.
• Create shorter sessions: Breaking down therapy into shorter sessions can benefit those with fatigue or lower endurance levels. Frequent but shorter bouts of activity can often be more effective than longer sessions, as they allow rest in between.

1. Dynamic Balance During Basic ADLs 

Basic ADLs refer to essential tasks like dressing, grooming, bathing, or moving from a bed to a chair. Often, older adults struggle with maintaining stability when moving during these tasks. 

• Reaching practice: Setting up a mock dressing area to practice reaching for clothes while standing can improve balance. As comfort and stability increase, weighted objects can be introduced to gradually increase difficulty. 
• Shower stability drills: Safe, assisted simulations of stepping into and out of a tub while maintaining balance can increase confidence and safety during real scenarios. 
• Standing grooming activities: Practicing tasks like combing hair or brushing teeth while standing can challenge balance and improve lower-body strength.

These interventions mimic real-life everyday tasks, encouraging older adults to build strength, coordination, and confidence in their ability to maintain balance.

2. Dynamic Balance During Instrumental ADLs

Instrumental ADLs (IADLs) go beyond basic self-care and include more complex tasks like cooking, shopping, and housework. 

These tasks often require dynamic movements like reaching, bending, and standing for extended periods. 

• Practicing multitasking: Combining balance exercises with tasks like stirring a pot or setting a table develops coordination and concentration. 
• Reaching and stretching: Reaching for items placed deliberately at varying heights to simulate real-life IADL scenarios. 
• Safe carrying drills: Maintaining balance while carrying relatively light items, like groceries or dishes to strengthen and promote lower-body stability. 

By actively incorporating tasks that mimic scenarios in daily living, these interventions help build confidence and stability in older adults and reduce the likelihood of falls in practical settings. 

3. Recreational Activities Addressing Standing & Sitting Balance

Interests and hobbies like gardening, crafts, or even leisurely games require balance and mobility. These activities offer physical and mental therapeutic benefits: 

• Chair yoga: Guided seated yoga sessions can improve flexibility, balance, and core strength while eliminating the risks associated with standing. 
• Gardening simulations: Tasks like planting in raised beds encourage bending and reaching, helping develop balance in a controlled environment using a beloved hobby. 
• Interactive games: Activities like seated balloon volleyball or bean bag tossing challenge sitting balance and improve hand-eye coordination. Games are often great in a group, where they promote community while practicing balance and motor skills. 

Blending therapy with recreation makes the experience enjoyable! It’s much more encouraging to maintain an active and balanced lifestyle when activities feel less like work and more like games. 

4. Dynamic Sitting Balance During Basic ADLs

Dynamic sitting balance is necessary for tasks performed while seated, like eating or dressing. Poor balance, while seated, can lead to falls from chairs or difficulty completing these tasks independently.  

Exercises that encourage sitting balance can include: 

• Seated reaching practice: While sitting, practicing reaching for utensils, napkins, or grooming tools placed at various angles helps to engage core stability. 
• Posture drills: Use a therapy ball or adjustable seating to adopt a properly seated posture while performing tasks that promote spinal alignment and balance. 
• Weighted object transfers: Passing weighted objects like a can of soup or a small medicine ball between hands can promote balance and strengthen the core. 

Focusing on these seated activities allows older adults to maintain better posture and stability which promote independence and increase safety while completing these seated tasks. 

5. Dynamic Sitting Balance During Instrumental ADLs

Many instrumental ADLs, such as sewing, managing finances, or meal preparation, also occur while seated.

Dynamic sitting balance in these scenarios contributes to both safety and effectiveness: 

• Precision tasks: Older adults practice precise activities like writing or threading a needle while stabilizing their posture in various seat settings. 
• Side-to-side drills: Tasks that require leaning and shifting weight, such as sorting laundry on a table, train adaptive balance techniques. 
• Interactive sorting games: Using therapy props like cards, blocks, or coins, residents alternate between tasks that mimic real IADLs while maintaining posture.

Schedule a Visit 

Occupational therapy is an integral part of senior rehabilitation and skilled nursing care.If you’re interested in occupational therapy for an older loved one, connect with our team at Fairview Senior Living to schedule a visit to our rehabilitation and skilled nursing community.