RSCC Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

This website gives a step by step to make your own paraffin wax treatment. I'm not sure how much they cost but this looks pretty easy. If a client really wanted to know how to make one, we could give this site as a resource.

This article gives different ways individuals can protect their joints. It identifies ways to relieve pain, distribute load, do things differently/easier, and different positions used to stabilize joints.

This website gives two ways to make a homemade heating pad. We learned one method in lab (heating rice sock).

For anyone wanting to increase their knowledge of hand musculature this is a awesome interactive muscle guide. Also, I ll leave this mnemonic here for intrinsic muscle memorization, "All For One And One For All" google for clues :)

This video gives a good demonstration of just a few ways to massage a scar. I had never heard of scar care before our hand lab with Carrie, and didn't know that OT had anything to do with it. Not all of us will get to be CHT, but we will all have patients with scars. Good information to tuck away for later.

Video showing how to massage a scar to soften it.

So I thought this would be beneficial for everyone because we were just discussing "burns" in lecture. This massaging technique would be good for a patient who has a localized burned, but could be used for a patient who has a massive portioned burned. I like how she explains what she is doing, and how it helps the healing process. This technique could be used for any type of scar tissue, so it is very universal in therapy.

Brief article on limb amputation, how it done, wound care and post op rehabilitation. Its very brief and general but informative all the same.

I love Levi Harrison! He explained what anatomical structure causes the phalanges to have trigger finger. Then, he shows one exercise that he would recommend for the patient along with a message treatment to loosen up the spastic pulley. Harrison explains other forms of treatment for trigger finger that OT could recommend.

This is a nice little pdf on wheelchair position techniques and recommendations for making clients as comfortable as possible while in their chair.

This video show five nerve gliding exercises that would help reduce, or prevent injury to the ulnar nerve. It starts off with explicit detail of what cubital tunnel syndrome is and provides a few examples of how one could develop cubital tunnel. The movie gives you step by step direction for the nerve gliding techniques, so it is easy to write these tips down while watching the video!

This AOTA article includes the definition of arthritis as well as OT's role in the treatment of arthritis. There is also a great tip sheet for treatment of arthritis by current need which can be downloaded for ease of use.

This is a printable tip sheet for people with arthritis. It has columns for what you want to do, tips for doing it, and how an OT can help.

Useful tips for how to help someone with arthritis, whether it is a family member or a patient.

Do you get mad when you see someone with no handicapped tag zoom into a handicapped parking spot at Wal-Mart and then jog into the store? I do! I like this video because it explains the great details that go into making good, accessible handicapped parking. It also causes me to think, as an able bodied person, about how I park my vehicle and how I use public space. For instance, do I pull so far into a parking spot that the hood of my car extends over most of the sidewalk, making it difficult for people to get around my car? And how many of you have been aggravated to see that there is a nice h/c parking area, but there's no easy way to access the curb, except for a slope that's 30 feet away and forces the disabled person to travel through the parking lot to get to it? I doubt that we as OTAs will be outside measuring and inspecting the parking lots, but this video does give you some ideas about the challenges that disabled persons face when moving from place to place.

Beth, I am so glad you posted this. It is also important to realize that just because someone isn't walking with a cane or using a wheelchair that they don't have the "right" to use these spaces. If they were issued a handicap placard by their doctor their is a good reason. Invisible illness is just as real as ones you can see. This is a great video! Thank you.

Here's a student made rap on the fundamentals of MOHO.

Some great ideas for putting together a great OT tool box.

DIY Pencil Grip to Improve Handwriting

There are quite a few programs designed to help children return to school after a burn injury, but it sounds like this was the first.

Interesting article, Lorie. I taught at a high school several years ago that had a pretty strict "no hats worn in the building" policy. There was one kid that I kept seeing that had a toboggan. Turns out he had had severe head burns, and the school permitted him to wear it. Good for them.

This video follows a contractor around a house as he shows changes they have made for an aging adult.

Great ideas on this video, Tiffany! I am very much in favor or either making nursing homes much less institutional or helping people stay in their homes longer. I feel as if there are a lot of advances and changing attitudes on this topic. Some of the universal designs that are shown, I would like to have them now! Never mind on waiting to get them when I'm old. Least path of resistance, I say. LOL

It's hard to believe that the ADA is 25 years old. This video shows some problems that still exist for disabled individuals in our present society. Like most major reform laws, the ADA has had a big impact on our country, but there is still more to do.

The following is a question and answer based article geared towards understanding the many different types of thermoplastic materials available for orthotic fabrication. It is important to understand the ways in which thermoplastic materials behave when activated in order to make them work properly and effectively for each and every orthotic design.

This is a video of activities that Aquatic Fitness does during work conditioning. It has several different lifting tasks and shows proper body mechanics. I think this would be good for clients but also for us as well.

Here is a list of ways that you can educate your patient on how to conserve energy throughout the day.

This is a great handout to keep in our tool box. The majority of patient's these days need to be able to conserve energy while they heal. In our fast paced society it is hard for people to slow down. EC techniques are useful for our clients and ourselves at times.