Splinting

We learned our first BIG therapy intervention, this past week....SPLINTING!! I can now make splints for Swan Neck Deformity, Boutonniere's deformity, Mallet finger, and trigger finger. This list will grow longer through the semester!

When you have a swan neck deformity - from an injury, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, congenital joint laxity, and prolonged positioning - which presents like this...



The distal joint is flexed and the proximal joint is hyperextended



I can make you this...

A beautiful figure eight splint. I couldn't find a picture of exactly what we made. My splints are at school, so soon I will take a picture of what I made and post it for you!

When you have a Boutonniere deformity - from injury, cerebral palsy, or rheumatoid arthritis, your finger could present like this...



Distal joint is hyerextended and proximal joint is flexed

I can make you this...

Look carefully. It is an upside down figure eight. again this isn't exactly what we made - but similar

If you have a mallet finger - from a sports injury, it may present like this...

I can make you something like this...

If you have trigger finger, which your finger just locks and you have to manually release it, it may present like...

In which I can make you something like this...



It keeps your finger in a slightly flexed but functional position

That was an over view of splinting from last week. When I have my camera and splints in the same location, I will take pictures to show you what mine actually look like. They are time consuming for beginners and harder to make than they look!