I’ve asked multiple people and have never gotten a clear answer. They’re always consulted together in the hospital, but I’m sure they have different responsibilities.
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There is a ton of crossover between the two disciplines. I’ve read of answers here that i partially agree with but nothing has hit it head on. Most aren’t ELI5 either. Im going to give you a few ways i’ve explained my job (PT -17years experience) to my 5yo, and expand on the answers a bit. A combo of these explanations should get you there.
The ELI3 would be PT works the lower body, OT does the upper body. Both are qualified to work the whole body, but is an easy to understand explanation for people.
You will see this most pronounced in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) setting and it is mostly to avoid any chance of “duplication of services” which will cause insurance to take back money if they think both disciplines are doing the same thing (true for all settings).
A slightly better ELI5 would be PTs help you move in the room and from room to room/outside. OTs help you with the tasks you do in the that room.
For example, PTs will help you learn how to get into and out of the shower. If you are too weak to lift your leg or your balance is too poor they will give you exercises and activities to improve those deficits so you can complete the task. If you dont have the endurance to stand in the shower the whole time they will help you improve your endurance so you can. They might make suggestions to adapt the environment so you can complete the task by suggesting you add grab bars to hold onto, get an adjustable shower head, or get a shower stool to sit on.
Here is where some of the crossover occurs, OTs will also focus on getting into the shower and making environmental adaptations. If PT and OT are both in on a case, the OT would more than likely focus on the tasks you need to do to complete the shower, like having enough upper extremity range of motion in your arms to wash your hair, being able to reach far enough to wash your feet (or getting the patient a long handled sponge if reaching their feet isn’t realistic), being able to dry off, getting dressed afterwards.
Another simpler example would be PTs will help you get the mobility, strength, balance, endurance you need to get into the bathroom and transfer on and off the toilet. OTs will help you with the strength, range of motion, balance and endurance you need to be able to get your pants down safely, wipe your butt, and get your clothes back on while transferring on and off of the toilet.
ELI5 PTs focus on gross (large) movements like getting in and out of bed, standing up from all the surfaces you sit on, walking, stairs, etc. OTs focus on what is called activities of daily living (ADLs) like getting dressed, bathing, toileting, brushing your teeth and the finer movements, balance, strength, and range of motion you need to accomplish them like zippers, buttons, wiping your (becomes a gross movement if you acrew up), manipulating a tooth brush or comb.
ELI7- if you get hurt PTs focus on helping you heal and recover faster and get you back through your prior level of function through exercise, balance activities, walking, modalities (like e-stim, ultrasound, dry needling, cold laser, ice, heat, etc) , environmental modification to improve your independence with your movement by improving your endurance, strength, range of motion, and balance. OT focuses on adjusting your environment and improving all the same physical impairments (balance, strength, endurance, range of motion) so you can perform your ADLs.
OT does more cognitive training tasks as well, but that will often fall to a speech therapist if available, and PTs can get dementia/cognitive certifications/trainings as well . Both are task oriented, but the tasks they focus on are different and how they get there varies. In all reality how any 2 PTs or 2 OTs address the same problem can be as different as how a PT vs OT will address it. You get so little hands on experience in your schooling (roughly 24weeks or so) that you do a lot of your practical learning after you graduate. You pick up tips, tricks, techniques from others you work both in your disciplines (Like if you are a PT, then from other PTs) and from other disciplines (nurses, OT, social workers dieticians, speech therapists, MDs, aides, janitors, etc). The setting you work in (ie hospital, acute rehab, SNF, homecare, school, outpatient, workers comp, etc) also affects your focus, interventions, and approach to working with a client and their problems. I hope this helps. OT does more cognitive training tasks as well, but that will often fall to a speech therapist if available, and PTs can get dementia/cognitive certifications/trainings as well
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