Who we see
Our Upper Limb service is for children between the ages of 0-19 Years.
As part of the Children’s Therapy Services, the Hand and Upper Limb service offers assessments and reviews of conditions concerning the upper limb, provision of splints for hands, elbows and fingers, and therapy for children and young people with hand and upper limb conditions.
These clinics provide a specialised service in which an Occupational Therapist assesses a child or young person’s upper limb function and determines what treatment is required, for example hand exercises, stretches, or splinting. Splinting aims to improve or maintain the functional ability of the hand and/or upper limb, prevent the development of contractures (muscle shortening), and preserve range of movement.
If the Occupational Therapist identifies a need for a splint, an appropriate splint will be fabricated and/or fitted, and ongoing reviews. These reviews enable ongoing monitoring and adjustment of the splint to be carried out as required to ensure it continues to meet the child/young person’s needs.
Where do we see them
The Upper Limb service predominantly runs on a face-to-face basis in one of our clinics at City of Coventry Health Centre, however children can also been in school or at home dependent on the need identified.
What may happen when we see an Occupational Therapist (OT)
These clinics provide a specialised service. Clinics are held on specific days (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) within the week. An appointment will be offered to your child to attend the clinic on a specified time.
A member of the team will complete an initial assessment. This will involve collecting relevant information, including updating medical history when necessary. The initial assessment is approximately 1 hour. During this time, the Occupational Therapist will take measurements of the joints in the upper limb, using specialist rulers (goniometers) to see if those movement fall within the expected range. If required, ongoing monitoring following this initial assessment may be arranged.
Services and treatments:
- Splinting
- Exercise program
- Strength program
- Botox (discussion with consultants)
- Specialist Assessments
- Modified constraint induced therapy
- Bimanual therapy
- Post and Pre Botox treatment
- Goal directed treatment blocks