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Splinting with Scleroderma

Janet Poole, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA

July 11, 2012

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Question

Do you recommend splinting with scleroderma?

Answer

I would not recommend splinting with persons with scleroderma unless you are able to moniter them very closely.   There is a high risk of tissue damage in these clients and loss of sensation (with Reynaud's disease).  These clients also need to move and stretch as much as possible and splints would put them in a static position.  However, if you are able to moniter them and have a specific splinting protocol you would like to try with them, I would say you could use splinting with extreme caution.


janet poole

Janet Poole, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA

Dr. Poole is a Professor in the Occupational Therapy Graduate Program at the University of New Mexico.  She received her BS degree in Occupational Therapy from Colorado State University, her MA degree in Educational Psychology from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and her PhD in motor learning/motor control from the University of Pittsburgh.  Dr. Poole’s research interest is in scleroderma and the functional impact of the disease on tasks of daily living, oral hygiene, parenting and employment.  She has conducted a number of studies examining rehabilitation interventions with people with scleroderma and, with a colleague, is developed a self-management program for persons with scleroderma.  She has also authored several textbook chapters on rehabilitation for persons with scleroderma.


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