Occupational Therapy - Deformity of the Thumb Bone

Running head: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY A1
Occupational Therapy
Name
Institution

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 2
Assignment 1
Problem Identification
Martha Washington complains of lack of movement of the thumb accompanied by pain and
stiffness. She also experiences pain when trying to pinch or tightly grip something. There is a
visible muscle atrophy around the thumb. There is also a possible deformity of the thumb bone
and a possible arthritis due to swelling around the thumb joint.
Description of Treatment intervention
Specific evidence-based occupational therapy interventions are necessary for addressing
Martha’s lack of range of motion in her thumb. One of the interventions is the use of animal-
assisted therapy. Animal-assisted therapy can be defined as a therapeutic intervention that
includes animals and pets such as cats in the treatment plan to assist with activities of daily living
(Şahin, Kose & Zarif, 2018). It is important to note that people engage in several activities
throughout their lifetime. Some of these activities involve playing with their pets and washing
them. An occupational therapist should use these activities to help their patients regain some of
their abilities and continue with their activities of daily living.
One of the ways of helping Martha is by involving her lovely dog in the treatment. The dog is
brought to the care facility and Martha is given a chance of playing with it. On occupational
therapist helps Martha in cleaning and drying her pet. The patient is then educated on adaptive
techniques to ensure that she can take part in her activities of daily living. Animal-assisted
therapy is important in occupational therapy because most patients are always passionate about
their pets and they would do anything for them (Andreasen et al., 2017). This passion can push
one to work harder and succeed in the assigned task thus leading to successful therapy sessions.