Have got osteoarthritis of thumbs/first fingers and got sent to occ. therapist.

What a load of paperwork and waste of time! I expected to be given a splint and a large handelled fork which I had expressed a need for. Instead I had an hour of questions, most of which were irrelevant, sent home with one soft support and I have to go in for maybe another two sessions. I had 2 questionnaires to fill in at home. One of them was relevant - showed where I needed help - but the other was so generalised that in the end I tore it up. I have several other disabilities as well as the osteo so this last "Dash Questionnaire", as it was called, made the whole thing muddled as it brought in my other problems as well. One is supposed to score one's problems and then have the score wonderfully reduced after their treatment - oh yeh!

I just wish I could target them to my specific needs re the hand problems but she was so waffly throughout. How to do 1/2 hour's work in 1 hour!!!! I found the whole thing so stressful that I think I would do better just buying aids off the internet. Anyone else had experience with Occ Therapists? Just the same when I had shoulder/upper back problems. They went the long way round to state the obvious, and in the end I found my own way to cope better anyway.

I've been to 4 different occupational therapist at different clinics who were specialists in hand therapy. Did you see a hand therapist or just an OT who does hand therapy? It really can make a difference.

All of my experiences were positive although there was a disagreement between my surgeon and one hand therapist about whether I needed a certain type of splint, and my surgeon stopped that splint. I think two of the places had me fill out a short questionaire about my ADL's with my hand problems but nothing extensive. Most of the sessions were hands on treatment to reduce my pain, increase strength, and temporarily adapt my activities. It sounds like your not getting the treatment that you expected. Certainly, having an evaluation the first session is reasonable however some therapy should have also been provided. If you can't change clinics you could speak to the director or supervisor about your experience and let them know that the sessions are not meeting your goals.