Hi Pat My first placement as a student was working in a shoulder and elbow unit and I worked with lots of people who had rotator cuff repairs.
We used to use an OB Help Arm in the first instance, after the aeroplane splint had been removed, to help them increase range of movement and feel they were achieving. We progressed onto clipping pegs onto a vertical wooden pole. The technical instructors had made boards for placing playing cards in, so the patients used to play patience (solitaire?) and clock patience. The board was placed almost vertically on an adjustable height table and the height of the table increased gradually. The only struggle I had using these remedial activities was that they did not have an immediate relevance to 'real life'. However, when I explained the purpose of them and a real life application of the movements used then patients were willing to work with me. The cards in particular worked well with some people who liked to try and better themselves - they liked the challenge. Wood crafts were also used. The heavy workshop was full of people who were some months into rehab. The technical instructors used to buy kits e.g. bird tables, stools, rocking chairs etc. The patients would then sand them, wax them, put them together, depending on their stage of rehab. The items were then sold at a nominal fee - I have a very nice rocking chair that I bought from them for �15! We also used to use macrame, as mentioned by De, to make plant pot holders, dog leads and key rings, which were then sold. Along with the therapy we used to do quite a lot of education, using models of a shoulder to show how the joint works, what happened before the tear and to show the best position for the arm to help prevent it happening again. We would then translate this into the rehab, showing how they should position themselves to turn off light switches, reach into cupboards etc etc. I hope this is of some help. Nessa ----- Original Message ----- From: "pat" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, August 01, 2003 2:39 AM Subject: [OTlist] shoulder ROM activities I am working with a patient who is three months post surgery for a torn rotator cuff. She is becoming bored with therapy and I am trying to come up with some activities that will be more fun for her to increase shoulder range of motion. Does anyone have any suggestions? *****************************��********************************** To remove yourself from the OTnow mail list, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist - List messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] *****************************��***********************************
