Physical and occupational therapy in palliative care

Abstract

Rehabilitation in palliative care addresses physical limitations caused either by a severely debilitating or life-threatening illness. Physical limitations may be caused by tumor mass effects or by the treatments used for palliation of that illness. Palliative rehabilitation can be divided into three categories: preventative, restorative, and supportive. Preventative rehabilitation attempts to address and prevent functional decline by addressing and correcting morbidity caused by cancer or its treatment. When long-term impairment can be avoided, restorative rehabilitation attempts to return patients to their premorbid functional status. Supportive rehabilitation attempts to maximize function after permanent impairments caused by cancer and/or its treatment [Javier and Montagnini. J Palliat Med. 14(5):638–648, 2011].