compensatory strategy
A technique or adaptation that allows a patient to accomplish a task by working around an impairment rather than restoring the underlying function.
Full Definition
In geriatric rehabilitation, compensatory strategies are interventions that enable a patient to achieve functional independence despite a persistent deficit, rather than remedying the deficit itself. Examples include using a long-handled reacher for a patient with limited hip flexion, employing a one-handed cooking technique after stroke, or installing grab rails to offset reduced balance. The term is distinguished from restorative strategies, which aim to improve the underlying impairment. For editors, 'compensatory' in this context is always an adjective modifying 'strategy', 'technique', or 'approach', and the phrase should not be shortened to 'compensation' in clinical documents, as that word carries separate medico-legal connotations.
Usage
Usage note: Do not shorten to 'compensation' in clinical documents. Contrast explicitly with 'restorative strategy' when both appear in the same document.
In Context
- "The occupational therapist introduced compensatory strategies for upper-limb dressing to maintain the patient's independence pending further motor recovery." — Occupational therapy assessment report
- "Where full restoration of gait is not achievable, compensatory strategies such as ankle–foot orthoses and environmental modification are documented in the rehabilitation plan." — Rehabilitation plan