Splinting for Hand Therapy

When I started working in hand therapy, I had very little experience with splinting.  I learned how to make a couple splints in OT school, and I had practiced making the splints with my fieldwork educator, but I

didn't feel comfortable, and I never felt like patterns helped.

After I started my first job in hand therapy, I had a hand therapist train me on how to splint without patterns.   I was surprised how much easier it was to splint with this technique. After learning just a few tips,

I felt comfortable making splints, and I was able to make them 4 times faster than before.  

I understand that watching a video

is not as good as a hands on approach, but hopefully this short

course will help you to quickly develop your splinting skills as a

hand therapist. 

When you splint with patterns you don't visualize the final product.  Instead, you rely on a

pattern and splint accordingly.  This takes time and results in error, because every hand size is different.   Splinting without patterns is about visualization.  Instead of focusing on how to copy the

pattern, visualize what the end product will look like and what it

will prevent.  If you're splinting for carpal tunnel, you want the wrist extended to about 15º with the digits

free.  A patient with a carpal tunnel splint should be able to use their hand without bending their wrist. Try to visualize the splint and also the function of the splint.  When you start thinking this way, you no longer need to rely on patterns.

In this video, I've provided a

few patterns as a basis to help you get started.  These

patterns are for the sole purpose of helping you understand what

the final product should look like.  

You'll find that your initial

splinting material is always a rectangle and your final product

follows the shape and function of what you are attempting to

accomplish.