Splinting Considerations
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[00:00:00] Are you an Occupational Therapist looking to advance your skills in hand therapy, then you're in the right place.
Welcome to hand therapy. Secrets long has developed a reputation of chunking information down into bite sized pieces. That are very easy to understand and apply. It's like cliff notes for hand therapy.
[00:00:21] Now get ready for some fun food. Why and hand therapy tips with your host Hoang Tran.
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[00:00:33] All right. So when it comes to splints, there are functional address mints, and then there are aesthetic adjustments, right? What do we know about splints? If they don't work, they won't be worn. If they don't look good, they won't be worn. So from a functional standpoint, You've got to trim the areas that are blocking what you're trying to achieve.
[00:01:06] So, for example, this is a static progressive, and you've made finger things that you're trying to get PIP, flection and dip flection. So let's not worry about the dip function so much right now. And just worry about the PIP function. Is it trend enough for that person to have PIP fluxion? [00:01:30] It's not. So that part, the volar part of those finger things need to be true so that they can obtain more PIP fluxion you might have it.
[00:01:43] Yes. Yeah. More of that oval shape. So that when they bend down, you see this crease here, it needs to clear it. So that's why, when you look at where you're at right now, he is okay for today, but you're making this orthosis so they can make progress. And what's going to happen is they won't see the progress if the splint is blocking them.
[00:02:12] So you have to look at your splints, not from today's point of view or not only from today's point of view, but from next week's point of view and the week after right now, you can make adjustments as you go. You don't have to make it all today. Today is like grades where it tell me what bothers you tell me doesn't work.
[00:02:32] Bring it back next time. So I can adjust it. Sometimes adjustments needs to be made after you wear it the first day. Right. And because this is it's custom fitted, that's why you're going to wear it and tell me what's wrong. Like you have to be open to that. Some people make these splits and think like, that's it like, you know, my shit is perfect.
[00:02:52] No, it's custom fitted, so it's not perfect on the first time you have to wear it and you have to tell me what you like, what you don't like about it. [00:03:00] Be honest because if you don't like it. How it works. You won't wear it. See, this is the problem. So let's be honest with each other and say, if, if it doesn't work, let me give me at least a chance to fix it for you right now.
[00:03:16] That is from a functional stamp. From an aesthetic standpoint, it's a little bulky, right? If it's too long on the end, it looks like it really goes over the finger over the tip of the finger. And that needs to be trimmed down. Um, because of it doesn't look good. Um, or if it's too bulky, then someone won't wear it.
[00:03:42] They won't tell you your work is ugly because. I believe people inherently are very nice. And for the most part, they want to be a kind person and they won't want to tell you that it looks ugly right to your face, then tell someone else, well, then I'm telling you no. So you opt to almost be so open to it of like, tell me if it's not looking good.
[00:04:12] I had to. Not say it. I said, you're not wearing it. You're not going to hurt my feelings if you are honest with me. And finally, he was like, you know, I won't wear it because it's ugly grades. I'm really glad, um, that it's not the function of the splint. It's just such, it's [00:04:30] ugly for you, right. Same patient.
[00:04:32] We've made him so many splints, right? Say patient on a different splint, you know? Um, uh, why won't you wear, tell me it doesn't work the way I want it to work. Perfect. Um, I didn't achieve what I was hoping to achieve. Thanks for telling me I won't fix it on you per se, but I'll fix it on another person who will need something like.
[00:04:55] I'm okay with that. So, you know, part of it is like when you're making things that are custom fitted, you have to be okay with the constructive criticism that you have coming from that particular place. Not that. You know, it is a bash to you as a therapist. Some people take it that way, but what I'm encouraging everyone who's listening to this is to not take it from a they're bashing me.
[00:05:19] I'm terrible. You're not terrible. You're good. You do good things. And when you practice and you do more and more and more of it, that's how we get better. Right. It is not just like, oh, I have to make it. And it's so perfect. It's never supposed to be perfect on the first try. It's supposed to need some work and that's okay.
[00:05:40] Um, so always look at it from a functional standpoint, what are functionally things that need to be adjusted and from an aesthetic standpoint, um, You know, does it, um, does it look good because people still care about that shit [00:06:00] and if it looks bad, they just don't want to wear it. Right. But the functional part is the most important piece.
[00:06:07] Functionally. I needed to do what it's supposed to do. Otherwise you won't see improvement. Otherwise it's not doing its job. That is the most important piece. Do a lot of those things. And over time, Aesthetically, you'll get better.
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