Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy (OT) is a health discipline concerned with functional difficulty of people who are physically and/or mentally impaired and/or disabled due to various medical conditions affecting the persons’ to do daily activities. This may include bathing dressing, eating… or other tasks such as performing work. The primary goal of OT is to enable people to participate independently and successfully in activities of everyday life. This is achieved by enabling people enhance their ability with appropriate activities or by modifying the environment to facilitate participation.

In leprosy, OT concerned with disability and restriction in participation of their routine activities including work, because of nerve involvement and reaction. The OT provides wide range of services includes and not limited to following list:

NEURO MUSCULAR TRAINING: Muscle retraining & re-education, Sensory re-education, endurance training etc.

ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING TRAINING: To promote functional independence in activities such as selfcare, writing, toileting etc.

VOCATIONAL REHABILITIATION: Work hardening, work modification to accommodate disability, ergonomic consultation etc.

SPLINT DESIGN & FABRICATION: To facilitate functional recovery, Prevention and correction of deformity etc.

ASSISTIVE ADAPTIVE DEVICES: To facilitate independence in activities

ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATION: To make home & work area accessible for the disabled NTERFERANTIAL THERAPY

SPECIALIZED CHILD HEALTH SERVICES: Handwriting remediation, school-based intervention etc. WAX BATH

MENTAL HEALTH: Stress & anxiety management, group therapy, habit training etc.

FOOTWEAR: Shoe Technician preparing Artificial Limb Insensitive feet pose one of the biggest threats in patients affected by Leprosy. It is necessary to provide the patient with appropriate footwear and educate them on the need for this footwear both in order to prevent ulcer formation and its recurrence. The footwear department in hospital has one shoe technicians who are dedicated to making footwear ranging from MCR sandals to artificial limbs. MCR sandals are prescribed for insensitive feet which look normal or with little misalignment.

 In case the foot is disintegrated, Molded Shoe/Sandal which has a soft insole that is molded to the contours of the patient’s foot is given. A thermoplastic AFO (ANKLE FOOT ORTHOSIS) is preferred for those with an unstable ankle joint. When the foot is absorbed and shortened PTB, which helps the knee muscle muscles take up some of the body weight is used. In extreme cases when the foot/leg is amputated artificial limbs are made to get the patient back to his feet again.