Difference between a Physiotherapist and an Occupational Therapist

If you’re trying to understand the difference between physiotherapy and occupational therapy, it usually comes down to what each profession focuses on and how they help improve function in daily life.

What does a physiotherapist do?

A physio works on how your body moves, focusing on improving mobility, strength, and overall physical function. If someone's having trouble walking, their balance is off, they're losing strength, or their coordination isn't where it needs to be, that's physio territory.

The goal is always functional: can this person get from their bed to the bathroom safely? Can they walk to the shops? Can they get in and out of a car? Can a child keep up physically with their peers?

How does a physiotherapist help?

Physios assess what's making movement difficult and build a plan to improve it. Treatment often includes exercises and manual therapy to improve strength, coordination, and gross motor skills.

It could also mean assessing for and prescribing assistive technology (e.g. wheelchairs, walking frames, other mobility equipment) and then training the person to use it properly.

A physio also looks at falls. Not just preventing them with grab rails, but working out why someone is falling in the first place.

A physiotherapist might ask themselves whether the issue relates to:

• strength
• Balance
• Vestibular
• Medication side effects

That diagnostic lens is what separates good physio from generic "let's do some exercises" physio.

Who do physiotherapists work with?

Physios work with kids, adults, and older people. They see participants at home, in community settings, at the pool (aquatic physiotherapy is a big one for people who struggle with land-based movement), and sometimes in schools where gross motor development is the focus.

What does an occupational therapist do?

Occupational therapy focuses on helping people perform daily tasks and engage in meaningful activities more independently.

Where a physio builds physical capacity, an OT takes that capacity and applies it to real tasks: getting dressed, cooking a meal, showering safely, managing a household, doing school work, going to work, participating in the community.

How does occupational therapy work?

OTs look at the whole picture. They assess the person, the task, and the environment. If someone can't do something independently, the OT determines whether it's a fine motor, cognitive, or sensory issue, or whether the environment just isn't set up for them. Then they find solutions to overcome those barriers, or at least reduce them. That might be building skills, adapting the task, changing the environment, or prescribing equipment.

Occupational therapy for children

For kids, OT often focuses on the skills they need to function at school and at home. That includes fine motor skills like handwriting and using scissors, self-care skills like getting dressed and feeding themselves, sensory processing difficulties, play skills, school readiness, and emotional regulation. If a child is struggling to keep up with what's expected of them for their age, an OT identifies what's getting in the way and builds a plan to address it.

Occupational therapy for adults

Home modifications and daily living support

For adults, OTs conduct home modification assessments, recommending changes such as bathroom modifications, ramps, rails, and door widening to make a home safe and accessible. They prescribe assistive devices and technology for daily living tasks like shower chairs, kitchen aids, and specialised seating.

Functional capacity assessments

They do functional capacity assessments when someone needs a formal evaluation of what they can and can't do. This comes up frequently in supported independent living applications and plan reviews.

Sensory processing and occupational therapy

Sensory processing sits with OT across all ages. For kids and adults who are over- or under-responsive to sensory input, an OT assesses what's happening and builds strategies to manage it.

Where physiotherapy and occupational therapy overlap

There’s significant overlap between physiotherapy and occupational therapy, especially when it comes to improving overall function and independence.

A physio is looking at things through a movement and mobility lens.

An OT is looking at things through a daily function and independence lens.

Often, the best result comes from both perspectives.

Both physios and OTs can prescribe assistive technology, and there's genuine crossover. Either could assess for and prescribe a wheelchair, a walking frame, or a shower chair, depending on the clinician and the situation.

Both do functional capacity assessments. The difference isn't about what equipment or assessments belong to which profession. It's about the lens they bring.

Where physiotherapy and occupational therapy differ

OTs do home modification assessments and sensory processing work. Physios focus on building raw physical capacity, such as strength, balance, and gait. Outside of those, you can expect overlap, and that's a good thing.

When you might need both physiotherapy and occupational therapy

A lot of people benefit from both. The physio and OT work as a team, sharing assessments and aligning their goals so that gains in one area feed into the other. Physical improvements without real-world application don't stick. Functional goals without the physical capacity to achieve them don't work either. Together, they cover the full picture.

If you're not sure which one someone needs, or whether they need both, get in touch, and we'll point you in the right direction.