Orthotic Design and Fabrication for the Upper Extremity

Book excerpt: Orthotic Design and Fabrication for the Upper Extremity: A Practical Guide by Drs. Katherine Schofield and Deborah Schwartz is a unique guide that illustrates orthotic design and fabrication in a clear step-by-step fashion by presenting printed textual material along with instructional videos. The first chapters lay the foundation for orthotic design and detail the anatomical knowledge and background information that is required before molding orthoses on clients. Each chapter explores a specific part of the upper extremity, describes several common clinical diagnoses, and highlights typical orthoses that might be utilized to immobilize and protect it. Together, these chapters communicate core, foundational knowledge for the use of orthoses as an intervention in occupational therapy practice. The instructional videos also emphasize the application of biomechanical, anatomic, and clinical constructs in orthotic design, fabrication, and evaluation. The textbook and video content work together enabling students and entry-level practitioners to learn with visual and versatile resources. University faculty members will gain access to ample activities and exercises to augment their classroom and laboratory teaching. This allows for more efficient use of time and appeals to the learning styles of current and future students. This text includes: Chapters devoted to specific type of orthosis for parts of the upper extremity linked to step -by -step instructional videos Case studies to promote a grasp of the knowledge and application to the development of clinical reasoning skills Multiple choice and short answer review questions and activities for most chapters Presentation of current evidence to support the use of the specific orthoses in clinical practice Patterns that can be replicated and check out sheets to critique each orthosis The combination of text materials and instructional video material makes Orthotic Design and Fabrication for the Upper Extremity: A Practical Guide a uniquely valuable resource for occupational therapy students, new graduates, and novice clinicians.