Putting your best foot forward: The role of occupational therapy in limb preservation (June 16, 2026)

Presented by: Allison Luther and Julie Colbourn

Occupational therapists are integral to a multidisciplinary limb preservation team, by addressing factors impacting the person, environment/context, and occupation. Strengthening collaborative, prevention-focused practice, particularly in chronic disease self-management such as those living with diabetes, can improve client outcomes and reduce amputations. Preventive approaches are 10–40 times more cost-effective than treatment, generating significant health system savings (CorHealth Ontario, 2021). This webinar will discuss how occupational therapy was leveraged as part of the multidisciplinary team for the lower limb preservation strategy for Northwestern Ontario. Participants will come away with increased knowledge on foot screening, comprehensive foot and footwear assessment in their own practice setting. The role of offloading to support limb preservation will be briefly introduced with recommendations for educational resources.      

After taking part in this webinar, participants will: 

1. Have an increased understanding of the role of occupational therapy in limb preservation, including: biomechanical assessment of the foot and footwear assessment.
2. Understand the importance of offloading strategies.
3. Be able to identify the role of diabetic foot screening in limb preservation.

Level  Intermediate (3-5 years of experience in this specific area of practice

Area of practice Acute care, Chronic conditions, Generalist, Primary care 

Client age group Adults (20-64 years old), Older adults (65+ years old)