Occupational Therapy Month: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

April is Occupational Therapy (OT) Month, so happy OT Month to all the OTs out there! In past articles for the Upper Limb Library, we’ve celebrated our OTs by talking about the importance of having them at each of our prosthetic care centers, their passion for their job, and the opportunities they have to go out and about with their patients. This year, we’ve asked them to tell us all about their favorite items that are helpful for people with upper limb differences — tools that are available from various online retailers that can make life with a limb difference a little easier.   

While our OTs have found these tools to help their patients, it’s important to note that since each person is unique regarding their level of limb difference, goals and individuality, these tools are not a one-size-fits-all fix. This is where the guidance of an OT can be crucial in helping each patient not only decide what tools would work best for them, but also showing them how to utilize each tool to maximize its benefit and minimize any overuse issues. 

 We’ll start with our Portland center OT, Jamie.  

“I love the foam tube grips [pictured below]. I utilized them at my job before, while working as an OT in hand therapy for patients of all backgrounds varying from arthritis to pediatrics. Now as an OT at the Arm Dynamics center in Portland, I find that using the foam tube grips helps greatly in concert with the prosthesis. Keeping a set in a purse or the car to use on utensils when having lunch with a friend or to use at home for an easier grip on a toothbrush and other items, can make life a lot easier. Because the tube increases the size of the grip, the soft foam makes it very useful to conform to the grip with a prosthesis. Overall, the universal design of the foam tube grips allows a variety of uses. I recommend them to all patients, and the low price and variety of use make them a great tool to have.”