In many of the inquiries we receive from potential patients, one of the things they point out is whether or not their amputation is on their dominant side. When someone loses all or part of their dominant hand, the individual may have a lot of questions, including: How am I going to get along without my hand, let alone the one I write with and use for everything?

A great number of our patients have lost all or part of their dominant hand and been able to get back to their daily activities, their job and their leisure activities. They can accomplish this because our prosthetists fit our patients with devices that are comfortable and functional, and our occupational therapists help them learn how to use their devices for all their tasks.

A prosthesis that fits snugly and functions well can make many tasks achievable. It’s also about having a custom-fit socket, frame and harness (if needed) that fits comfortably and allows you to optimally control your prosthesis.

Hybrid Partial Hand Social

Because our prosthetists are upper limb specialists, they know how to create streamlined sockets that are lightweight and balanced. Some of our patients are told by their insurer to be fit by a general prosthetic provider first but frequently report dissatisfaction with the prosthetic care they receive. Recently, we had a patient, Isaiah, report that the socket and frame he received at his Arm Dynamics center was 40% smaller than his first socket and frame from a general prosthetist. That lack of bulk can make a big difference when trying to adjust to a new normal using a prosthesis.

In terms of hand dominance specifically, the guidance of our occupational therapists is essential. They can go over each of your daily home and work tasks and discuss which ones can be performed using your dominant side and terminal device, and which tasks they would recommend relearning with your non-dominant side. For instance: pruning. There are terminal devices like multi-articulating myoelectric hands that can make the motion that hand-held pruning shears would need. There are also body-powered devices that can create the force needed to prune. But our occupational therapists would almost always recommend that pruning is a task that is best re-learned with the non-dominant hand. This is because the force needed to prune would be too much for a myoelectric hand, and with a body-powered prosthesis, the motion needed to prune isn’t an option. So not only do our occupational therapists help you learn how to use your prosthesis, they also provide tips for how to relearn tasks with your non-dominant hand. All our occupational therapists are well-versed in hand-dominance retraining.

Knowing these kinds of tricks can put you ahead of the game when you get home after your prosthesis fitting and start getting back to your life. Our occupational therapists go through each daily task, from cleaning to cooking to childcare, depending on their patient’s needs. Work tasks are also discussed, and if it’s an option, they will visit worksites and teach their patient how to perform work tasks to maximize efficiency and minimize overuse symptoms.

Hugo works with an Arm Dynamics Clinical Therapy Specialist who travelled to Hugos job site for work therapy

You can read more about the experience of losing part of a dominant hand in our article featuring an interview with Lynda, who spoke with us in the first few weeks after receiving her prosthesis.

While all amputations can be devastating, people who have lost all or part of their dominant hand can feel especially adrift in the weeks and months after their injury. But we want you to know there is hope. All our center teams have expressed many times what a gift it is to work at a place where people come in feeling a loss of hope and leave with optimism. Our prosthetic technician Cullen: “We get to watch them go from some of the lowest points in their life to realizing they can do this they dust themselves off and they get on with it.” Our patient profile stories are full of individuals who have figured out how to move forward. Two great examples are Gerry and JJ, pictured below, two of our patients with bilateral amputees, who had to relearn all their daily tasks without the use of either hand. 

JJ & Gerry

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about our prosthetic care during a complimentary consultation, either in-person or via video chat, please contact us. Our teams at each center and our supporting teams have one goal: help you achieve your goals.

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