Hand therapy is therapy that engages an individual in a purposeful activity through meaningful occupation in order to maximize their independence through exercise, adaptation, and assistive devices. In today’s busy society, the involvement of personal “occupation” during hand rehabilitation is often forfeited in favor of traditional methods (i.e., cone-stacking) that have little value to the client. As a refresher, it’s often good to remind ourselves of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: To begin with, an occupational profile is created which helps a therapist learn about the client and about the occupations that have meaning to that particular person. The information derived from this is then used to form an intervention. Finally, an outcome measure will be used to evaluate the intervention’s efficacy.
Performance in Areas of Occupation
· Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) – (bathing/showering, bowel and bladder management, dressing, eating, feeding, functional mobility, personal device care, personal hygiene and grooming, sexual activity, sleep/rest, and toilet hygiene.)
· Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) - (care of others, pets, child rearing, communication device use, community mobility, financial management, health management and maintenance, home establishment/management, meal preparation/cleanup, safety procedures and emergency responses, and shopping)
· Education
· Work
· Play
· Leisure
· Social Participation
Performance Skills
· Motor Skills (posture, mobility, coordination, strength/effort, energy)
· Process Skills (energy, knowledge, temporal organization, adaptation, organizing space)
· Communication/Interaction Skills (physicality, information exchange, relations)
Performance patterns
· Habits (Useful habits, impoverished habits, dominating habits)
· Routines & Roles
Context
· Cultural, physical, social, personal, spiritual, temporal, virtual
Activity Demands
· Objects Used and their Properties, Space Demands, Social Demands, Sequencing and Timing, Required Actions, Required Body Functions and Required Body Structures
Client Factors
· Body Functions (mental functions, sensory functions and pain, neuromusculoskeletal and movement-related functions, cardiovascular/hematological/immunological/respiratory system function, voice and speech functions, digestive, metabolic, endocrine, genitourinary and reproductive functions, skin and related structure functions.)
· Body Structures (Structures of the nervous system, eye, ear, voice, speech, all body systems noted in body functions above, structures related to movement, skin and related structures.)