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Upper Limb Prosthetic Rehabilitation for Occupational Therapists: An Introduction

Upper Limb Prosthetic Rehabilitation for Occupational Therapists: An Introduction
Debra Latour, OTD, M.Ed. Advanced Practice of Occupational Therapy, OTR/L
September 29, 2015
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OT and Prosthetic Rehabilitation

Before we get started, can I just have an idea by hitting your thumbs-up or thumbs-down icon how many of you are currently seeing patients who have an upper limb deficiency or who have experienced upper limb loss?  It looks like about half of you have responded and most of you are hitting the "No" button. That is going to dovetail with some of the statistics and demographics that I will be sharing with you. As occupational therapists, we provide a critical component to upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation, but yet we rarely see an individual with such amputation.

A compounding problem is that we are often unfamiliar with upper limb prosthetic technology. I do not know about you, but way back in the dark ages of time, when I attended OT school (I graduated in 1978), we had maybe one lecture on upper limb prosthetic technology. Many of the students that I see at some of the area programs around me here in western Massachusetts, they do not get much more than that either, even at this point.

The other compounding problem is that the technology is always developing. The components might be overwhelming to us as occupational therapists. For those who are younger, you have grown up with a lot of sophisticated technology. It may not be as overwhelming to you to be think about external power or some of the fancier articulated technologies. But to those of us who have been in practice, it might be a little overwhelming. The bottom line here is that specialty training is beneficial for us as occupational therapists.

What Can We Do?

What does prosthetic rehabilitation involve? It goes beyond the basics of preparing the residual limb and the actual prosthetic training of opening and closing a terminal device. It also includes aspects of adjustment and teaching compensatory or accommodating strategies so that our patients can be successful in their lives. Our goals as occupational therapists always pertain to maximizing functional independence. We need to consider this as we look at specific tasks at hand, specific motor skills, positioning, and posturing of our clients. All of this works together to help us accelerate the rehabilitation process for our patients, and it is essential to our patients' success in achieving functional independence and perceiving a high and positive quality of life.


debra latour

Debra Latour, OTD, M.Ed. Advanced Practice of Occupational Therapy, OTR/L

Dr. Debra Latour, OTD, M.Ed., OTR/L is a registered occupational therapist and owner of Single-Handed Solutions, LLC, providing clinical, educational, and research consulting services to manufacturers, providers, and individuals with upper limb loss/difference. She offers clinical interventions through her affiliation with Handspring Clinical Service.   Debi graduated from BSOT/Tufts University and earned her M.Ed. (Advanced Practice OT) from Springfield College and post-professional OTD at A.T. Still University. She is a full-time academic faculty at Western New England University.  Debi is active with the Amputee Coalition and is a member of ACPOC, AAOP, ATA, and AOTA. Debi has a congenital upper limb difference, is an active prosthesis-user and shares her experiences and tips through her blog at www.Single-HandedSolutions.blogspot.com. She is the inventor of record of patented prosthetic technology, and has authored published articles and chapters in occupational therapy text books, as well as copyrighted educational materials distributed by ContinuEd and MedBridge. Debi has consulted with Scholastic Books as a sensitivity reader for diverse publications, was mentioned in the book “Inventology” (by Pagan Kennedy), and is a subject in the “We Design” exhibit of Design Museum, that opened October 3 in Boston, MA.



Related Courses

Current Topics in Upper Limb Loss and Difference: Unlimbited Wellness and Secondary Conditions
Presented by Debra Latour, OTD, M.Ed. Advanced Practice of Occupational Therapy, OTR/L
Video
Course: #4477Level: Advanced1 Hour
Individuals with upper limb loss/difference (ULL/D) are likely to encounter secondary conditions that include pain, overuse and perceptions of isolation, and social stigma often require specialized services, including occupational therapy that may be difficult to access. Today’s course highlights the development, implementation, and evaluation of a telehealth program that offered preventive information, strategies, and peer interaction. This course is Day 1 of the virtual conference: Current Topics in Upper Limb Loss and Difference.

Bilateral Tasks: One Hand Versus Body-Powered Prosthesis
Presented by Debra Latour, OT, PP-OTD, MEd, OTR
Video
Course: #6097Level: Advanced1 Hour
Completing common bilateral tasks using one hand and a body-powered prosthesis will be reviewed in part 1 of this upper extremity series.

Teaching Bilateral Tasks: Prosthesis Simulator
Presented by Debra Latour, OT, PP-OTD, MEd, OTR
Video
Course: #6098Level: Advanced1 Hour
Completing common bilateral tasks using one hand and a prosthesis simulator will be reviewed in part 2 of this upper extremity series.

Bilateral Tasks: One Hand Versus Externally-Powered Prosthesis
Presented by Debra Latour, OT, PP-OTD, MEd, OTR
Video
Course: #6104Level: Advanced1 Hour
Completing common bilateral tasks using one hand and an externally-powered prosthesis will be reviewed in part 3 of this upper extremity series.

Bilateral Tasks: One Hand Versus Static Prosthesis
Presented by Debra Latour, OT, PP-OTD, MEd, OTR
Video
Course: #6105Level: Advanced1 Hour
Completing common bilateral tasks using one hand and a static prosthesis will be reviewed in part 4 of this upper extremity series.

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