Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

This study reports the importance of appropriate selection of splints in occupational therapy interventions for an old woman with a metacarpal fracture. The patient was a seventy-year-old woman. She was a wife and an office worker. Her dominant side was the right. She fractured her left little finger due to falling during walking. At the initial evaluation brought the following results: 1) Complaining pain when moving metacarpophalangeal joints, 2) Unable to use her left hand due to anxiety, and 3) 25/100 in Quick-Disability Arm Shoulder and Hand (Q-DASH), indicating difficulties in using both hands. Based on her hope of going back to work and resuming her hobby activity (playing Ukulele), her short-term goals were 1) Performing ADL, housekeeping, and work-related activities with both hands at four-week post-surgery, and 2) Performing those activities with no splint at six-week post-surgery when observing bone adhesion. The interventions were: (1) A typical operation for fixation, (2) Tailoring sprints according to her recovery, (3) Mobilization aiming at contracture prevention, and (4) Encouragements of using the injured hand. The provided splints were: 1) A Knuckle splint at the week-three, 2) A Buddy splint at the week-four, and 3) A Dynamic splint at the week-six post-surgery, respectively. At the week-ten post-surgery, she complained no pain, 2/100 in Q-Dash, and performing work and hobby activities with no issue. The originality of this study was the introduction of appropriate splints and the usage of the hand from the early stage.