Occupational Therapy

Count on licensed occupational therapists at UNC Health Nash in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to help you regain or develop important skills for everyday activities at home, work or school. Seek the expertise of an occupational therapist if you’re recovering from injury, illness or surgery, or you’re living with a long-term health condition.

Who Benefits from Occupational Therapy?

Turn to our expert occupational therapy team that help you heal after surgery, and that treat a wide range of trauma, injuries and conditions, including:

• Neurological conditions, such as: Parkinson's disease, cerebral vascular accident or stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury/surgery, Guillain Barre, ALS, and multiple sclerosis
• Orthopedic injuries/conditions, such as: Hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder surgeries, arthritis, tendinopathies lateral/medical epicondylitis (tennis/golfer's elbow), carpal tunnel syndrome, sprains, strains, and sports injuries

How Can an Occupational Therapist Help Me?

When you choose UNC Nash for your rehabilitation care, our highly trained occupational therapists will provide personalized treatments to help you live as independently as possible. Find care for you, your children, and older adults.

Depending on your condition, occupational therapy while you’re hospitalized can help you restore, relearn or improve:

• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily
  • Bathing, dressing, hygiene, feeding, toileting
  • Cooking, cleaning/home maintenance, work tasks, school tasks Living (IADLs)
• Range of motion
• Strength
• Functional endurance
• Functional balance

Your occupational therapy may involve finding new ways of doing the everyday activities or functions you did before. Or you may learn how to adapt your home, work or school environments to fit your needs.

Occupational Therapy Services

Find specialized occupational therapy treatments, including:

• Certified hand therapy – Certified Hand Therapists (CHTs) who are specialized and trained in evaluating and treating shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, related to hand conditions, injuries, or surgeries
• Joint mobilization techniques – Uses hands-on therapy to stretch and restore normal motion to your joints
• Kinesiology taping – Applies flexible strips of special elastic tape to your body to treat injuries and pain
• Lymphedema care – Applies massage therapy, skin care, and compression to manage swelling
• Splinting/orthoses – Custom-made splints to support, protect, and immobilize your arm and hand during the healing process
• Neurological and Stroke Program – tailored for patient with stroke or neurological conditions by stroke certified therapists

Based upon evaluation, our occupational therapists can provide:

• • Manual therapy
  • Massage therapy
  • Therapeutic ESTIM/Ultrasound
  • Iontophoresis/Phonophoresis
  • Ergonomics training
  • Fall prevention strategies
  • Customized home exercise programs
  • Environmental modification and adaptive equipment recommendations

If you need help with daily tasks, we’ll recommend assistive devices for you.

Certified Hand Therapy

As the only provider of Certified Hand Therapy in Nash, Edgecombe, and Halifax County, you don't have to go far from home to receive rehabilitative care for your hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder girdle. Specializing in assessment, planning and treatment, our Certified Hand Therapist provides therapeutic interventions to prevent dysfunction, restore function and/or reverse the progression of pathology of the upper limb in order to enhance an individual’s ability to execute tasks and to participate fully in life situations. Click here to learn more about Certified Hand Therapy.

Stephanie Griffin, OTR/L, Certified Hand Therapist
Stephanie Griffin received her Hand Therapist certification from the Hand Therapy Certification Commission in May 2011, and recertified in 2016 and 2021. 

"I truly believe in the power of certified hand therapy to change lives. It's more than just treatment–it's a pathway to strength, function, and independence. Seeing patients regain their abilities and confidence through this specialized care inspires us every day to continue making this meaningful difference in their lives."