This purpose of this study was to discuss the different measurement tools available for evaluating the upper limb of persons with tetrapelgia and if they are accurate. Findings show that the grasp and release test is recommended for clinical trials involving persons in the chronic stages of SCI. While muscle strength testing and electrodiagnostics can be useful measures in acute clinical trials and outcomes studies, standardized measures of hand function are difficulty because they require a sitting balance and endurance tat many people with acute tetraplegia simply do not have. Overall, the study found that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to determine the best assessment tool for upper limb function in SCI.

The purpose of this study was to to determine the feasibility and efficacy of home-based MusicGlove therapy. The findings of the study showed MusicGlove therapy was not superior to conventional tabletop exercises for the primary end point but was nevertheless feasible and led to a significantly greater increase in self-reported functional use and quality of movement of the impaired hand than conventional home exercises.

Promoting functional hand activities is a crucial rehabilitation goal for persons with tetraplegic spinal cord injury (SCI) [1-4]. Some people with mid- to low-level cervical (C) SCI achieve useful tenodesis grasp, which is opposition of the thumb and the index and middle fingers through reciprocal wrist extension and finger flexion, with the aid of a wrist-driven flexor hinge orthosis (WDFHO) [5-6].

This purpose of this study was to measure the gains in hand function during a 3 month rehab period for people with c5 injuries when wearing a static orthosis at night compared to individuals who did not wear the splint at night. They found that the there was no significant difference in hand function when wearing the splint. The conclusion of this study was that future studies need to examine if increased daily wear or longer period of time wearing the splint (more than the 3 month study) would allow splits to have more an effect on hand function. t

This purpose of this review was to identify interventions used for UE restoration after tetraplegia and what evidence was available to support the use/effectiveness of these interventions. The review found there there is not much evidence based research supporting the use of splints to increase UE restoration. However, there is good research backing up the prescription of electrical stimulation therapies and upper limb surgical interventions therapy individuals based on their specific phase of recovery and functional deficit.

This is a great PDF that summarizes studies documenting prevalence of upper limb injuries, what interventions were used to treat them, and how effective they were. IT provides great suggestions for treatment based on the effectiveness of previous interventions and why they worked.

This is a great source for clinical practice guidelines regarding spinal cord injury's and the risk of developing Pressure ulcers this population , it is a a systematic search of the medical literature conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed) and identifies relevant publications describing pressure ulcers in patients with spinal cord injuries.

This link provides research studies supporting the best approaches to treat multiple cognitive and perceptual impairments post stroke and identifies what assessments to use to appropriately test attention, memory executive function, perception and praxis, and language.

This PDF describes multiple different modalities used in OT and discusses their indications, precautions when using them, what pt's would benefit from the, how to document the use of them, etc.

This inventory was developed to complement the algorithm entitled "An OT Approach to Evaluation of Cognition/Perception". This is an inventory of cogni
tive (but not perceptual) assessment tools identified by OTs within Vancouver Coast Health and Providence Health Care. It gives a description of the assessment, who it has been used for, and the reliability/validity of each test, how long the test takes, and if/what supplies are needed for the exam.

This website is a reliable tool to look up Occupational Therapy Assessments to see how to administer the test, the reliability and validity of the test, and the norms and what population it is intended for.