Upper Limb Orthotics
Orthotics Plus provides a range of Orthotics and treatments for the upper limb. Our services are available at both our Melbourne clinics.
We receive referrals for the Orthotic management of upper limb fractures, where we provide casts, splints, bracing & acute injury support. We are contacted by hospitals, specialists and individuals who are self-referring after an incident.
We provide custom & prefabricated Orthotics for the fingers, base of thumb, hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, humerus and shoulder.
Upper Limb Services
Upper Limb Fracture Support
If you have experienced an upper limb fracture or injury and live in Australia, you can contact emergency services by dialling 000 on your phone.
Orthotics Plus is not appropriate to contact for emergencies, this is typically performed by a local hospital.
Please view our clinic locations to view our opening hours, please contact us if you require acute-support outside of our normal hours, we’ll do our best to help!
Patients will visit Orthotics Plus, an appropriate device will be fitted/fabricated during the appointment (depending on the exact injury & severity) and we assist with follow-ups right through to recovery.
Post Hospitalisation
Our services are typically considered after the patient has been discharged by emergency departments, which could be the same or next day.
In most cases, the patients are provided a temporary cast, splint or brace at the hospital, then visit Orthotics Plus afterwards for a more comfortable solution.
We have the ability to remove the cast, splint or brace that was fitted at the hospital.
The patient may be discharged from hospital without the fitting of a cast, splint or brace and the hospital will make a referral to Orthotics Plus for fitting.
Please bring your x-ray and any additional diagnoses information to your appointment.
Non-Hospitalised Patients
We also provide acute support for people who have experienced an upper limb injury or fracture, who chose not to admit themselves to hospital i.e an injury that was diagnosed at a later date.
We would suggest visiting your GP initially for imaging where possible prior to visiting Orthotics Plus.
If you present to us without a GP referral we will treat you based on symptoms, but may refer you back to GP for imaging to rule out further issues which require an x-ray or MRI to diagnose.
Patients are able to self refer to us for any reason.
Who Can Access Upper Limb Orthotics?
Please note, our services are available to:
- Private-paying individuals
- NDIS participants
- Homecare package recipients
- DVA clients
- Workcover/TAC clients
Please contact our office to discuss funding options and pricing enquiries for upper limb services.
Benefits of Upper Limb Orthotics
Orthotics can lead to a number of well-received benefits our patients enjoy. Our orthotists will listen to your goals and purpose of engaging us, typically we can help with:
- Acute and long term rehabilitation
- Correcting deformities
- Pain management
- Improving range of motion, strength and function
- Protecting an area from recurring injury
- Restricting movement as necessary
- Helping you return to normal activities
Upper Limb Referrals for Orthotics Plus
There are several reasons why we are an appropriate provider to consider:
- Patients are seen in a timely manner, which is not always the case with public healthcare
- We focus on functional outcomes and your quality of life
- Our solutions are typically waterproof, lighter, slimmer, stronger and more comfortable to wear
- We provide detailed instructions
Please view our clinic locations and referrals pages to make a booking, we’d love to hear from you!
Upper Limb Info
Yes, we provide a waterproof cast option.
Waterproof casts are a great option for patients who wish to shower/bath with their cast, and for those with holidays planned, so they can still enjoy a nice swim or undertake hydrotherapy.
Orthotics should ideally, help a person with their symptoms (such as pain management), provide functional outcomes and lead to a greater quality of life.
We do our best to create Orthotics that complement our patient’s lifestyle and choices, which is the case for both fracture management and chronic conditions.
We also deliver Orthotic management of related physical and/or neurological conditions impacting a person’s upper limb, such as supports for Stroke and Osteoarthritis patients.
We are not involved in the prescription of long term strengthening programs, as there are other healthcare providers that are more appropriate for that aspect of rehabilitation.
The most important outcome is our patient’s health, so we will always refer onwards if we think other healthcare would be beneficial for your upper limb condition.
Yes.
RSI is a term that is synonymous with recurring inflammation of tendons, namely the tendon which controls the thumb and wrist movements.
Carpal Tunnel & De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis are the two RSI conditions we see most.
In cases like these, we often provide splinting for immobilisation of the respective area to facilitate a degree of healing. We have seen patients respond well to this treatment.
We are contacted for generalised wrist pain where we have found compression wrist sleeves to be an appropriate treatment pathway, amongst others.
Typically for fractures, these are all custom made because we want our solution to be perfectly moulded. This is usually the case for casts and low-temperature plastic wrist braces.
Elbow Range of Motion braces are typically prefabricated.
Success story 1
We recently served a lady who had a severe elbow injury. She’d had multiple surgeries and was subsequently left with poor range of motion. The lady was finding it difficult to eat and extend her arm to reach for items comfortably.
We fitted her with an orthosis designed to provide constant extension to her arm to stretch out the contracture. Over two weeks, her range of motion improved significantly and she was very happy. We think that’s a great outcome!
Success story 2
Other feedback we hear regularly is after treating kids with fractures.
We fit them with a waterproof fibreglass cast and they return after 4-6 weeks.
At the follow up, parents often comment on how good the cast has been because the child can still function, write, play at the beach, shower, swim or not miss out on too many activities.
Yes, some can be removed where appropriate.
For example, a custom made wrist hand orthosis fit for a wrist fracture or post surgery can be removed for hygiene or to perform rehabilitation exercises if appropriate.
A waterproof synthetic cast for a fracture would not be able to be removed until the desired length of treatment has occurred and the injury has healed.