Clara is a frail, 82 year old, right hand dominant woman who has osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus. She is alert and oriented x3. Clara ambulates independently with a walker, but she has difficulty grasping the walker with her left hand. She is experiencing increasing pain in her left wrist and thumb CMC joint because of her arthritis. She states that her hands are “clumsy” and she drops things when she performs self-care activities. Since the recent death of her sister, who assisted Clara with ADLs (and with whom she shared a first-floor apartment), Clara realized she could no longer function independently. She has been referred to home health rehabilitation for splinting, ADL training and functional activities to improve upper body strength. Now, Clara has a home health aide 3 mornings per week. The aide assists with bathing, shopping and housekeeping. Family members live nearby. Which splint do you recommend for night use?

A splint pattern should be made for each patient because:

Resting hand position is described as:

Identify the wrist or hand action for the flexor pollicis longus muscle.

The width of the forearm trough should be:

In making a splint pattern, you should:

What is the purpose of the metacarpal bar on the wrist immobilization splint?

The MCP joints of the fingers have two degrees of freedom

  What is your splinting rationale for Clara?

When fabricating a splint, which of the following should you not do?