Jane who is 43 years old married female with two young children (11 and 7 years old) was involved in a motor vehicle accident about eight months ago. As a result she suffered whiplash injury and developed a number of whiplash associated disorders (WAD). Being unable to perform full neck movements her daily life activities are limited. It is particularly painful in the mornings, evenings and with prolonged use of her neck. It has also resulted in the weakness of her upper cervical extensors, pectorals, scaleni and rhomboids. Weakness has also been reported in the left hand in terms of pronation, abduction and opposition. She complains of an altered sensation in her fingertips. As a result she has been unable to do her job duties as a DATS driver. Her injury left her unable to perform many chores she used to do before for her family. She can not drive her children to many activities and is unable to perform computer job for her husband. Homemaking tasks are very difficult for her to complete. Due to her disability she has been unable to engage in any leisure activity since her accident. As a result she feels frustrated and stressed.
A suitable activity for Jane should be within her capabilities, be meaningful and should be of therapeutic value when performed repetitively (Trombly, 1994). In this regard pottery seems to be a favourable activity for her. It is not only meaningful, it can be adapted according to Jane's needs and can be graded to serve as a therapeutic media for her neck recovery which is her major problem at the moment as well as to achieve her long term goal of getting back to activities related to all areas of occupational performance.
To begin with, Jane can perform pottery related tasks over a table of suitable height where she does not have to flex or extend her neck to a harmful extent. Because her left hand is weak, she can use a low consistency clay (more water) for some period as it will make the kneading and shaping easier for her. Consistency can be increased to bring it to the normal level later on which will provide more rigorous exercise for the hand and will improve its function. Placing all the required tools in front will keep her neck relatively stationary and will be helpful with regard to her limited neck movements. Later on as her neck improves, a dispersal of tools to the sides of the project will give her the opportunity to strengthen neck muscles and upper body range of motion. Simple and small pottery items such as making a bowl or a plate where many movements of the neck and finer coordination of fingers is not required will be suitable for initial stages. This can later on be graded to larger objects like a carved flower vase that require fine manipulation of hands and fingers for their completion. This will improve her hand and finger coordination. Using finger tips for finer carvings will slowly train her hands for finer manipulation with her present sensation level. At this stage she can also try using a wheel that will make her to move the neck more frequently as she bends to inspect different parts of the item she is making.
Apart from the therapeutic value, Jane will be able to perform pottery in a whole variety of environments. Initially she can perform it under the guidance of an OT in a hospital setting. As she gets more used to it, she can involve her children in the activity in her home environment. It will not only keep her children busy but will be a leisure and creative outlet for all of them. She can also try objects that give her satisfaction and serve as an outlet for her emotions. She will be free to use the timings she likes and the frequencies that are comfortable for her. At a later stage of her progress, she can try longer duration projects to enhance her endurance level. This improvement will enable her to accomplish the homemaking and bookkeeping activities and will help her to return back to her work place.
In summary, pottery is an activity that has all the inherent characteristics for Jane's progress towards well being. It is easily adaptable according to her needs. Its gradation from one level of function to the next will not only be of therapeutic value to the major area of her dysfunction ( neck movement) but will also have a positive impact on her other deficit areas. It will hasten her progress towards her original level of functioning and she will once again be able to perform the lost or impaired activities in her work home and leisure places.
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