Group items tagged

This webpage is actually a CEU course by Wild Iris Medical Education. Completion of the test at the end gives the practitioner 1.5 contact hours and the cost is only $15. The information helps one identify stressors and then provides practical, easy-to-understand strategies for managing stress and remaining in the profession. It provides stress prevention ideas not only for the individual to implement, but employers as well. I also like that you can read the information for free if you choose not to take the course.

This article talks about reasons why elder patients may be at risk for falling as well as strategies and modern technology to help improve safety in hospitals and nursing homes.

Group repository for online resources related to Theory and Treatment of Physical Disabilities

Ergonomics are important in several areas. They are not just for desk or office spaces. This page has links for ergonomic strategies for carrying a purse, using a briefcase and using a suitcase. These strategies can help reduce pain in the neck, shoulder and lower back.

This is a handy-dandy chart of a variety of assessments that OTs can use to help determine a patient's functional limitations and how those limitations may change over time. According to fairly new rules related to Medicare, OTs and other therapists must now include a G-code which helps documents changes in patients and gives Medicare decision making abilities about the patient's future services. Originally I was looking for the use of the Barthel Index in OT settings when I found this chart and recognized some of the other assessments as well. If you are especially interested in working with older patients, this chart could be helpful.

I really like charts. I just posted one above. Thank you!

Very handy! I had thought about posting a small chart and think I will now! Thanks Beth

This is an article on the stand up desk Teri mentioned in class the other day. My fiancés place of work is giving the employees the option of having one of these as well and he opted to try it out. He says he can tell a difference in back pain when he stands vs. sitting, I assume it is because he is using better posture while standing. Since it was mentioned in class and he is using it I wanted to see if I could find other benefits to using a stand up desk while at work. I found this article explaining more benefits of using the stand up desk and I found it to be a very interesting read, and wishing I would have had this option at my desk job before I started school.

In class we have been discussing the wellness wheel and holistic health. This article about wheelchair tennis is inspiring and encouraging for persons living with disabilities. As practitioners, we should be aware of a variety of resources that could help our clients live full lives. "Wheelchair Revolution" relates the history of wheelchair tennis through the lives of Brad Parks and Jeff Minnebraker, both paraplegics. The two fatefully met at the Ranchos Los Amigos rehab center (remember the levels of consciousness scale by the same name?) in the 1970s. Minnebraker was a pioneer of lightweight, maneuverable w/c's, while Parks was experimenting with w/c tennis. The article also describes the game's popularity, attractive prize money, international tour, and sizable fan base. More info on wheelchair tennis can be found at http://www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/Wheelchair-Tennis/Wheelchair/.

How would a blind person play tennis? This article explains the sport of blind tennis and gives some information about the sport's history, which started in 1984. With certain modifications of rules and equipment, blind or otherwise visually impaired individuals can participate remarkably well. Scientists are discovering other ways that the brain "sees." The visual cortex apparently can also process auditory and tactile stimuli, and impaired individuals also do have some visual perception, using other senses to monitor their surroundings. When blind tennis players begin to succeed on court, that success carries over into other areas of their lives. The article includes conversations with instructors and students, and is inspiring to those who think they "can't."

I have known people with COPD and to be honest, I never really knew exactly what it was. I just knew that they had it because they smoke. (The people who I knew) This link provides a look into what this disease does to someone emotionally, as well as physically. How sad to have to grieve just as if you have lost a loved one. This disease can cause you to have anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and problems with sex and intimacy. Sex is an ADL! So much more to this disease than I every knew.

Amputation Specific Goals Some of the standards of care are specific to the amputation itself, and others are more concerned with the general health and well-being of the patient. The following are areas of concern specific to the amputation itself: A. Prevention of contractures is necessary at both the hip and the knee.

This article covers almost any topic you could possibly think of as related to goals for a person that has had a lower extremity amputation. They are labeled A-L, but G is what really stood out to me personally. Section G talks about emotional care and how individualized it can be. There are several suggestions as to how to address emotional care after an amputation.

This seems like about the only research out there on sex with an LE amputation. ABSTRACT: Sexual adjustment following lower extremity amputation was evaluated by interviewing 60 adults with recent amputations, 39 men and 21 women, after they had become independent in ambulation with a prosthesis. Among the men, 77% reported a substantial decrease in the frequency of sexual intercourse following amputation, while only 38% of the women reported a decrease.

The website of the National Down Syndrome Society offers some valuable information for therapists and caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome to understand their sexuality and give appropriate sex education.

I tagged this page because it is important to remember that sex is not just an emotional event, but a definite physiological one as well. We need to remember this for not only our patients but in our own lives. Marriages are hard enough to maintain, but it is even harder if sex is viewed as a weapon. If both parties understand the benefits of a healthy sex life, everybody is a lot better off. Cause "if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy," lol.

Would you prioritize sleep if you knew it kept your immune system strong? That's the question the American Academy of Sleep Medicine wants you to ponder this week. Lost in the hoopla surrounding Independence day was the publication of some eye-opening (or eye-shutting) research by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine showing that the immune system responds sharply to sleep loss.

This article emphasizes the correlation between stress and sleep. No matter our age, everyone needs plenty of sleep to properly function. Sleep is a time for our bodies to "reboot". Just like stress, lack of sleep is harmful to one's overall well being. The article lists similar physiological effects that are caused from lack of sleep that our text book has listed for chronic stress. High stress levels and an inefficient amount of sleep wreak havoc on a persons immune system. It is always easier said than done, but we all could improve our health by finding ways to reduce stress and sleep more.

A variety of stress management techniques are available that involve learning how to control your body's responses to stress or anxiety. These techniques involve learning to consciously relax your body through a variety of techniques, such as meditation or guided imagery.

This website offers information on various stress management techniques such as meditation, biofeedback, yoga, guided imagery and deep breathing. In addition, there are links within each section that gives more information for that particular stress-management strategy. For example, you can click on a link under guided imagery that will give more information on techniques that someone can use. This website also explains how these stress management techniques will help improve physical, mental and spiritual wellness.

Here is a room-by-room checklist of steps you can take if someone in your family is impacted by a lasting injury, disability or age-related physical challenges. Many of these improvements will also make your home safer and more comfortable for able-bodied residents and guests alike, as well as potentially increase its value.

This article provides a checklist for making a home accessible. It begins with simple solutions for ensuring safety and also recommends contacting someone that has a Certified Aging in Place Specialization (CAPS) that can help design the home to meet visibility and universal design. I think it will be important for us to be skilled in assessing a clients home to help enable them to age in place.

Health and Wellness

I found this webpage concerning caregiver stress and burnout. It is an informative article regarding how to recognize stress leading to burnout. When I saw this, it reminded me of our class today and it lists tips on how to deal with our stress. Even if it's not caregiver stress, this could relate to anyone who is dealing with a lot of pressure.

information on how to treat burn patients

This website provides a lot of information about the types of treatment that are provided on an outpatient basis and from what I see is very OT related. It includes info on scar control and massage, pressure garments and how to put them on, therapeutic exercises including using the PNF technique, work hardening, common interventions, modalities, ADLs , and the different splints used and why they are used.

It covers the do's and don'ts of burn rehab as well as how to administer different exercises, garments, and scar massages.

watch this short video on classification and treatment of burns. This just reinforces what we are studying in Physical Disabilities right now. I thought this video had really good images of the layers of the skin as well as images of burns on the skin.

This is a article out of AJOT. It is about OT in the and how we can help people reach maximum potential in work environments. It goes through and gives examples of how this can be done. Best of all it is what we just covered today. I think it is very important we understand our role in this area. It is actually something I did not really think about until Teri explained it so well today. Also, everyone was very engaged in the the discussion and it makes it so easy to learn that way. Thanks.

This website lists OT interventions related to rheumatoid arthritis such as joint protection, range of motion, maintaining muscle strength, and avoiding stresses that can damage joints. It also lists the optimal lying, seated and standing positions as well as taking care of the hands.