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How Occupational Therapy Can Help With Arthritis In The Hands

Some time ago, I wrote this post about occupational therapy and how people with chronic pain can benefit from this practice.  Occupational therapy helps persons who have disabilities learn new ways to function in spite of a number of types of disabilities.  As an example, if an individual has a stroke and loses the ability to use an arm...they can re-learn to bathe, dress themselves, etc, in spite of the loss of function with the help of an occupational therapist.



Osteoarthritis of the carpometacarpal joint



More recently, I came across an article written by an occupational therapist about how an occupational therapist can help those who have osteoarthritis in their hands. This is a specialized practice that can help the patient to ease pain and increase range of motion, so that they can more easily perform everyday tasks.

An occupational therapist who has expertise in this area is familiar with a number of techniques to help afflicted patients using any number of methods.  While each person's treatment is individualized, it may include the use of splints for added support or rest, or perhaps learning exercises tailored to increase range of motion or strengthen joints in the hands. An occupational therapist can also help in preventing further damage to the arthritic joints, helping to preserve function for as long as possible.

If you have arthritis of the hands and would like to know more about the services an occupational therapist can offer you, talk to your health care team about it. Typical occupational therapy services for this condition occur twice weekly for about four to six weeks  A prescription is usually required and insurance usually covers it.

You can read the original article for this post by clicking here.

Sources: Everyday Pain Management Ideas; Wikimedia; Benzinga.com




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