Preparing upper limb prosthetic patients for success.
Our on-site therapists work exclusively with upper limb loss patients to support the fitting process, provide training that’s relevant to each person’s goals, and help them shift into life as capable, independent prosthesis users.
Therapy services are integrated directly into the expedited fitting process and follow a phased approach to maximize the rehabilitation potential of each patient. There are four key phases to prosthetic therapy and training: perioperative, pre-prosthetic, prosthetic training and advanced training.
Each phase focuses on different aspects of a patient's rehabilitation journey, making sure that they receive the support and training they need to progress.
Perioperative care is the initial phase of occupational therapy and begins soon after injury or surgery. This phase involves assisting the patient with wound care, sterile whirlpool, ultrasound, debridement and edema control. The therapist recommends adaptive equipment to help the patient achieve more independence prior to receiving a prosthesis. The perioperative phase also includes scar management, range of motion, soft tissue mobilization and desensitization of the residual limb. The early involvement of a therapist helps ensure that the patient moves through the rehabilitation process without lapses in care.
Prosthetic training is where therapists guide patients in the functional use of their prostheses and offer a range of essential information that includes:
This phase also includes adjustments to the alignment and controls of the prosthesis, and modifications to the shape of the interface or socket. The patient, prosthetist and therapist work together to resolve any prosthetic and therapeutic issues, maintaining steady progress toward the patient's functional goals.
Lifelong care focuses on the patient's long-term prosthetic use and begins after they complete training and return home with their definitive prosthesis. As they increase their independence and use their prosthesis for more complex tasks, therapists may visit patients in their home to help with minor modifications and recommend adaptive equipment and other outside resources. This can include information on driver training and vehicle modification services.
Prosthetic success rates improve dramatically when therapists focus on activities that relate to the patient's specific vocational and recreational interests. Therapists may go to a person’s workplace to guide them on how to efficiently use their prosthesis on the job. Therapists may also accompany patients on initial visits to the grocery store, gym, restaurants and other locations.
An annual appointment with the upper limb prosthetic team addresses prosthesis maintenance, ongoing therapy needs and emerging prosthetic technologies.
We’ve presented AOTA certified CEU courses on upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation for OTs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon, Oklahoma and Texas. Attendees earn 0.10 occupational therapy CEU for a one hour course.
Some of the information you can expect at an Arm Dynamics CEU course includes:
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