Occupational therapist Anette Philipp on the opportunities of robot-assisted hand therapy
A few weeks ago, we were allowed to visit Anke Odenthal's practice for occupational therapy and hand rehabilitation in Neuss and look over the therapist Anette Philipp's shoulder. When we told her about our AnyHand, she wanted to learn more about robot-assisted hand therapy. So we invited her to our office in Mainz to tell her about the latest developments and also to talk about her visions for hand therapy in the future. We were very happy about her visit!
First we talk about what she enjoys about her job.
why she chose occupational therapy. With every patient
patient, the focus is on one common goal: the person should be able to be
the person should be able to return to everyday life. To fulfil this task
not only taping, massaging and exercising, but it also requires a constant
but also requires constant psychological support. For this to be effective, the
patient and therapist become one and push each other,
especially at points of stagnation. The motivation of the patient is the
basic prerequisite for the healing process and complete recovery is only possible
possible with the right attitude. Being a team with the patient, working close
work close to the person and to participate in the progress live - that is the
greatest motivation for them.
In the practice in Neuss, the team is working on becoming completely paperless in the future. Patient files, training plans and X-rays are to become available digitally on the tablet. In general, Anette Philipp does not like to stay with the "status quo" - her demand on herself is to constantly educate herself and thus be up to date. The congresses of the DAHTH (German Association for Hand Therapy), the DVE (German Association of Occupational Therapists) and the interdisciplinary interaction with specialists, such as at the DGH symposia (German Society for Hand Surgery), provide her with an overview of the broad field of therapy options. Anette Philipp can then deepen her specialist knowledge in a targeted manner in specific further training courses.
Can you sense a change in the occupational profile of occupational therapists?
noticeable? "There are regions in Germany that are so poorly supplied with therapists that
that patients have to travel very long distances." The
shortage of specialists in physiotherapy and occupational therapy is omnipresent. On
On the one hand, Anette Philipp thinks that trainees and students in the faculties
should be made more aware of hand therapy so that there are enough young
young professionals are available. On the other hand, she sees a
great opportunity in medical technology. She tells of a girl who fell through a
through a pane of glass. The accident destroyed flexor tendons, veins, skin
and muscles. Although the surgeons did their best, many of the structures could not be
could not be restored during the operation. Anette Philipp and her
colleagues are asked to take over the case, even though the family lives over 70 kilometres away.
kilometres away. She often talks to the mother on the phone, they write messages
and the therapist makes videos with exercise sequences to save the patient a trip or two.
the patient a trip or two. The mother sends pictures of the condition of the
scars. Without the constant availability of WhatsApp, Skype and the like, the therapy would have been a lot more time-consuming.
therapy would have been a lot more time-consuming.
The AnyHand, which is currently being developed by LIME, would have been an optimal
would have been an optimal aid in this case: especially after the initial, acute
treatment phase, our movement splint can be used by the therapist to train
exercises determined by the therapist can be practised at home. The AnyHand constantly transmits
data on the range of motion, maximum strength and number of repetitions to an app
app, which the therapist can view. Of course, the interpersonal connection must
connection must not be lost: whenever it seems sensible, a personal appointment is
whenever it makes sense to arrange a personal appointment based on the training data. Anette Philipp
sees a particular benefit here for common injury patterns such as fractures,
fractures, flexor tendon injuries or arthrosis. For this to happen, smartphones
and tablet must be made even more socially acceptable. "You must not think that you are
distracted from the person when you use a tablet. It is much more
interaction between the person and the therapy device."
Anette Philipp has been a registered occupational therapist for 12 years.
occupational therapist for 12 years and has completed a Bachelor of Health in
Occupational Therapy in the Netherlands. She runs the occupational therapy practice of Anke
Odenthal's occupational therapy practice in Neuss and specialises in hand therapy. In addition
member of the DAHTH and DVE, she is committed to the future and opportunities
of hand therapy as well as with the whole team for the professional training of future
future therapists.