Amputees Unanimous: A 12-step program.

Background: Alongside physical impairment, psychosocial health issues may arise after amputation, impacting quality of life. Traditional psychosocial care models provide services in a linear fashion, with limited supports upon discharge. A novel program entitled Amputees Unanimous is a 12-step program provided for amputees by amputees.

Impact of Fire Arms Training in a Virtual Reality Environment on Occupational Performance (Marksmanship) in a Polytrauma Population.

Introduction: Polytrauma, to include major limb amputation, in a military population presents unique rehabilitation challenges with the overarching goal of restoring function leading to the primary question, "Is this Service Member (SM) capable of returning to duty following rehabilitation?" The US military has a vested interest in maximizing injured SMs occupational performance to allow for return to duty. The purpose of this report is to describe marksmanship (shot grouping and weapon qualification) and return to duty outcomes following a course of VRE-based firearm training in a polytrauma patient population.

Methods: The medical records, stored in the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), of all patients who received rehabilitative care at the Center for the Intrepid (CFI) to include VRE-based firearms training between 01OCT2015 and 01AUG2016 were manually reviewed for inclusion.

Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy for persons with unilateral upper extremity amputation: A case report.

Study Design: Pretest/posttest case series design.

Introduction: Rates of prosthetic device abandonment are highest among persons with upper extremity (UE) amputation. Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (mCIMT), which has been extensively studied in patients with chronic, subacute, and acute stroke, is an under-utilized approach to treat persons with UE amputation.

Psychosocial reactions to upper extremity limb salvage: A case series.

Study Design: Case series.

Introduction: A salvaged limb is one that has undergone a major traumatic injury, followed by repeated surgical attempts in order to avoid amputation. Psychological recovery for individuals with lower extremity limb salvage has been examined in a number of studies.

Unilateral hand training on functional performance in patients with upper extremity trauma.

Study Design: Case series.

Introduction: Upper extremity (UE) trauma and subsequent immobilization affects functional performance.

Purpose Of The Study: Determine the usefulness and feasibility of unilateral hand training (UHT) on improving functional performance in patients with UE trauma.

Psychosocial reactions to upper extremity limb salvage: A cross-sectional study.

Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional survey study.

Introduction: Limb salvage spares an extremity at risk for amputation after a major traumatic injury. Psychosocial recovery for individuals with lower extremity limb salvage has been discussed in the literature.

The suitcase packing activity: A new evaluation of hand function.

Study Design: Prospective, repeated-measures study.

Introduction: Understanding individual hand function can assist therapists with the process of determining relevant treatment approaches and realistic therapeutic outcomes. At this point in time, a composite test that assesses both unilateral and bimanual hand function in relation to a functional activity is not available.

Effects of an Occupational Therapy Hand Dominance Transfer Intervention for Soldiers With Crossed Hand-Eye Dominance.

Crossed dominance (CD) is defined as an individual's dominant hand and dominant eye being on opposite sides of the body. CD negatively impacts an individual's ability to accurately aim and fire long-barreled guns. The authors developed and evaluated a hand dominance transfer (HDT) intervention to improve the M16 rifle shooting accuracy, efficiency, and skill transfer.

Functional Capacity Evaluation-Military: Program Description and Case Series.

A functional capacity evaluation (FCE) evaluates the ability of an individual to perform activities related to employment. There is no FCE specific to the military population; therefore, a FCE for the military population (FCE-M) was developed to evaluate an injured service member's (SM) ability to return to duty. The FCE-M is herein described along with descriptions of three active duty SMs who completed the evaluation.

Prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries during military operations and training.

Injuries are a major impacting factor for a military organization. Injuries may be the result of direct combat, or noncombat, and may be incurred during deployment, other military operations and training. The impact of injuries is the loss of manpower (e.

Rehabilitation programs for musculoskeletal injuries in military personnel.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to summarize current trends and rehabilitation programs for musculoskeletal injuries in military personnel returning from deployment.

Recent Findings: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) are the leading healthcare problem for military members. Risk factors include participation in sports, carrying heavy loads, older age, female sex, standing for long periods of time, and walking long distances.

Management of dominant upper extremity injuries: a survey of practice patterns.

Study Design: Internet survey.

Purpose: To describe current practice patterns in hand therapy to 1) gain insights into beliefs of certified hand therapists (CHTs) related to initiating a hand dominance transfer, 2) describe CHTs' clinical decision-making strategies, and 3) describe research priorities related to hand dominance transfer in hand therapy.

Participants: Five hundred sixty-three members of the American Society of Hand Therapists.

Stability of handwriting performance following injury-induced hand-dominance transfer in adults: a pilot study.

The aim of this study was to quantify stability of nondominant handwriting kinematics and legibility in participants with functional loss of the previously dominant hand. Twelve adult volunteers provided two handwriting samples 6 weeks apart. Handwriting tasks (Compose a Sentence, Copy Alphabet, Copy Date, Copy Sentence, and Draw Circles) were performed in cursive writing on standard white, lined paper taped to a digitizer to record kinematic and kinetic variables of velocity, displacement, force, and on-paper time.

Integrating the dynamical systems theory, the task-oriented approach, and the practice framework for clinical reasoning.

ABSTRACT This paper describes the purposeful integration of dynamical systems theory, the occupational therapy task-oriented approach, and Framework II to inform clinical reasoning. Dynamical systems theory provides the clinician with information about how systems interact to influence motor behavior. The task-oriented approach helps the practitioner to clinically improve motor behavior.

Neural gliding techniques for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: a systematic review.

Context: There are discrepancies regarding the efficacy of neural gliding exercises for the management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Objective: To conduct a systematic review assessing the efficacy of neural gliding in comparison to alternative nonsurgical treatment for the management of CTS.

Evidence Acquisition: A computerized search was performed in April 2008.

Managing the upper extremity amputee: a protocol for success.

Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, over 541 clients with major limb amputations have been seen in the Military Healthcare System. As a result of the nature and severity of injuries and the prevalence of concomitant injuries seen in this population, amputee care has become a specialized type of rehabilitative care at Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Centers. To streamline and accommodate the needs of clients with upper extremity limb loss, a five-phased upper extremity amputee protocol of care was developed.