I went to a splinting workshop yesterday. I used to be the one who was the last person to finish my splint. I used to have a hard time. This time it was much easier. I did learn some things- but a lot of it was review. It was a good feeling.
Yesterday it was sunny. Today it is raining (freezing rain in the morning), and I can't wake up. I can't sleep, either- I thought I would nap. I'm just sleepy and tired. I don't want to do anything except lie around.
I want to do laundry- but I have to carry my laundry outside to the basement and I am afraid that it will get wet on the way back. I guess I can put something over it. Someday I will have my own washer and dryer. Someday.
I'm impressed. I had so little training in making splints; Smith and Nephew came and did a one day seminar where we made a resting hand, a thumb spica and one other that I only remember was made of aquaplast and that we had to wear that one for a few hours and it hurt terribly because my partner got the thumb position all wrong. I never made that many splints but every one I did make pretty much had to be creative for one reason or another and places never stocked the right kinds of splint material (the long-term psych places had this stuff that was way too responsive to gravity and took about an eternity it seemed to harden enough to come off the patient, none of whom were able to stay still. One splint alone had to be done I think 7 times and wound up requiring 4 people because the patient wanting his wrist flexed and kept taking advantage of the material to flex when it needed to be extended slightly.) Another splint I made them order neon velcro b/c the patient had a habit of throw splints out but nothing custom would fit anymore anyway. Even with the neon strapping I found the splint behind the refrigerator after some serious searching one day.
ReplyDeleteThe only splints I made that were good were not at all traditional. One woman had a stroke and if her fingers touched each other she went into extremely tight flexion. I used foam to make a big hand with fingers spread and then strapped each finger individually to keep them apart and she stayed nicely in neutral and over time regained full use of her hand as long as she she AROM first thing every day. That was my best splint probably.
I always wanted to learn more and the classes were never near enough or really practical for what I was doing. But I liked the concept of making good splints.
JMJ