An occupational therapist with MG helps others manage their pain

Last updated June 26, 2025, by Agata Boxe

 

Living with a rare disease like myasthenia gravis (MG) can make it challenging to find a profession that is fulfilling and suits your needs. Julia Carrington, who is 34 and has MG, has been fortunate to pursue her calling as an occupational therapist certified in hand therapy.

“I really like it,” she says about her job. “It’s always nice to be able to help people.”

Carrington, who was diagnosed with MG when she was 20, works primarily with patients with injuries and conditions affecting the upper extremities.

While some days can be difficult to get through, she applies her expertise to manage living with MG.

Forging a career path

A lifelong athlete, Carrington was originally planning on becoming a physical therapist. Her college major was exercise science.

Then an occupational therapist visited one of her classes. Carrington had never heard of occupational therapy, but she liked that it seemed to focus on mental health much more than physical therapy does.

The unique emphasis has to do with the origins of the profession. Early occupational therapists, known as “reconstruction aides,” aimed to help traumatized World War I veterans recover from emotional scars by engaging them in everyday activities, such as weaving, carpentry, and gardening.

Carrington, who lives in Beaverton, Oregon, had another, more personal reason to pursue the profession. Growing up, she had seen her mom deal with chronic pain after being hit by a drunk driver.

“So that’s kind of what pushed me toward healthcare in general,” Carrington says, “because I just wanted to find a way to help people live better lives with less pain.”

She also knew that she needed a career that could support her when she was dealing with MG symptoms, such as fluctuating energy levels.

“I specifically went into hand therapy, in part because I like the field, obviously,” she says. “But also in part because I knew it wouldn’t be as physically taxing on my body.”

Helping patients deal with pain

Carrington specializes in treating people with injuries of the upper extremities as well as those with conditions that affect them, such as arthritis and carpal tunnel.

“I have a certification in hand therapy, which is a bit of a misnomer,” she says. “It’s really the entire upper extremity, not just the hand.”

Pain management is now an important part of her work as an occupational therapist. Carrington believes that this aspect of occupational therapy can be especially important for patients with MG, who often deal with pain.

She has heard anecdotally that they are not always taken as seriously as they should be when reporting pain to their neurologists.

If a person with MG has weakness affecting specific muscles, they may try to compensate with other muscles to do certain tasks — a shift that may trigger pain.

“So, it seems really common sense that people with MG would have pain,” Carrington says. “But some neurologists say, ‘No, no, no, this doesn’t cause pain. You must have something else going on.’”

Living and working with MG

Some days can be more challenging than others when living and working with a chronic disease.

For Carrington, those tend to be the weeks immediately preceding the infusions of her MG medication, which she receives every eight weeks.

After the first six weeks, when the medication starts to wear off but before it’s time for her next infusion, she starts to experience symptoms. They include fatigue and brain fog as well as trouble contracting her core, lifting her arms overhead, smiling, and chewing.

To help manage drops in her energy levels, Carrington builds supportive routines into her week to make daily tasks easier.

She also tries an occupational therapy strategy called kinesio-taping to help manage muscle weakness and fatigue. It involves using thin, flexible yet sturdy tape as a support tool to help decrease muscle fatigue or take pressure off nerves.

When Carrington knows she will be standing a lot, but her shoulders and upper back are feeling especially weak, she will tape her shoulders back for support to take some of the stress off her muscles.

Some of Carrington’s other MG strategies:

• Carrington allocates her energy strategically during the workday, adjusting her schedule by taking 30 minutes for lunch and two additional 15-minute breaks.
• Before her medication starts to wear off, Carrington plans meals that are easy to chew, and preps food and buys pre-cut foods in advance.
• Carrington stresses the importance of honest, open communication with neurologists because, she says, “They don’t know [how we’re doing] unless we explicitly tell them what we’re struggling with.”

And finally, Carrington doesn’t hesitate to delegate when fatigued.

“I get home from work,” she says, “and I’m like, ‘OK, husband, you’re in charge of everything else.’”

---

Myasthenia Gravis News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.