[jellyjazz]

Hi there,

I'm off to see an OT tomorrow mainly to get custom made wrist splints for arthritis-lupus related.

I'm in a flare now and am on steroids and am pretty much house bound as the lupus has effected my leg muscles (i start hydro and physio next week).

What sort of thing do OT's do and what questions should i be asking them?

Holly

 

[lin]

Hi hollie, they do lots of the questions too, i found when i went they asked lots,
that they ended up comming over to my house from the hospital, too see what i needed , they are very helpful, you have no wories. and yes they do the splints too, day and night ones.

take care and sorry your poorly, L:foryou:in xx

 

[Joandublin]

Hi there Holly

I recently had wrist splints made by an OT and I found the experience very nice and the therapist was very attentive. It was a very different experience than most medical visits

The kind of things I was asked was where was the pain, what kind of movement made the pain worse etc. It was all very gentle and they dont push you to do anything that might cause too much pain. The splints I was given have a metal bar tucked inside which run vertically along the splint (to keep the wrist from bending forward).

They also moulded a kind of plastic material similar in shape to the metal bar and I have to insert this one into the splint during the day when needed. The strip was hard plastic which he put in very hot water first until it was pliable enough. Then he pressed it onto my wrist as it hardened until he was happy that the shape followed the natural line of my wrist.

Ask him/her how often you should wear the splints. What kind of activities warrant wearing the splints, etc and also dont forget to ask if there will be a follow up appointment to see how you are getting on with them.

All in all I had a very nice and pleasant experience. He also gave me some exercises to do to improve the movement of the wrist. My overall impression was that attention was paid to what I was saying and that, in itself, felt very good

Hope yours goes as well.

Luv n stuff
Joan:rose:

 

[KarolH]

My niece is a OT and I think they will evaluate you and they ask the questions.

Based on that they give you what you need.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.:wink2:

 

[Raglet]

If you are getting custom made, they will probably take molds of your hands/ forearms then make the splints from those. So you will not be receiving the splints tomorrow, they will just make the plaster molds (at least that has been my experience with custom made things). It is a messy business, so I would recommend not wearing your best dress (though of course they will protect your clothing, so don't take me too seriously).

For ready made, they just try on a range of ready made to get the best size/fit and issue them on the spot. They can also do a limited amount of modifications to standard issue stuff on the spot (for example they can put additional straps on to my leg orthotics while I wait).

They will have plenty of questions for you so I wouldn't worry about knowing what are the 'right' questions to ask, though of course if there is anything YOU want to know, speak up and ask your questions.

Are you getting resting or working splints ?

hth

raglet

 

[jellyjazz]

Well i went today - bit of a emotional rollarcoaster but it was all positive in the end. I got two lots of splints that are working splints - one for general use and ones for driving and in 3 weeks i go back as they are gonna make me resting splints and also mould some for me to use when i play my instruments - im a musician!

I'm also going to see a phycologist about dealing with lupus and life and other people and they are gonna teach me how to pace myself and also some relaxation excerises. Has anyone else been to see oen of these?

I'm relieved that i am getting some help with dealing with it now - i thought i had accepted it well but i realise now i'm finding it harder than what i will admit so hopefully this is me on the road to being positive and getting my life back together!

I also start hydro next week and that HAS to be relaxing!

Thanks for all your replies! xxx