While I was on my first placement I was lucky enough to spend a day with a hand therapist. I really enjoyed my time in this environment and was amazed at how different each condition was that the therapist attended to. Recently in one of my classes we have been discussing hand therapy. This has made me realise that branching off to a particular part of OT might be something I should consider in the future as I enjoyed the focusing solely on one particular part of the body, without limiting my knowledge, involvement and OT intervention. Here are some videos off youtube that explains hand therapy a bit more.
This video provides different examples of hand therapy and shows how it can link in with other therapy's to have a positive impact on the clients rehabilitation.
This video reminded me of an issue that i discussed with my supervising hand therapist. I was told that many different 'games' could be used for assessment on a variety of clients, however it was important to ensure that the materials used in the assessment were age related. I am unsure whether the materials in this clip were. I believe that having a restricting condition can be shameful enough for some clients without suggesting they carrying out a 'game' that they may have performed in early stages of their life. I think this is a very important point to consider.
This video shows the beginning stages of hand therapy that a client is receiving. Although the therapy seems to be very basic, it is important to begin small as once this exercise has been mastered it provides confidence for the client and assists in making harder tasks easier to grasp.
This video empahsises how important your hands are in everyday tasks and how difficult life is when they are not working to thier full capacity. It also provides a good example of numerous activities that can be used in hand therapy. Although it does also include other areas of Occupational Therapy it provides a great quote at the beginning of the video which I think is very appropriate to hand therapy.
"Man, thorugh the use of his hands
as they are energized by mind and will
can influence the state of his own health"
- MARY REILLY
This video demonstrates another point that I learnt while spending time in hand therapy on placement. It is very interesting and something that can be carried at home so the client can speed up their recovery if followed correctly. It is very interesting as it shows how the brain can influence the recovery of a client.
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