Commentary: Rehabilitation for Rural and Remote Residents Following a Traumatic Hand Injury
A traumatic hand injury can involve damage to a number of structures including skin, nerves, tendons, muscle bone, and soft tissue. Impairments such as pain or stiffness and loss of range of motion can last for many years and result in a moderate to extreme impact on a person's day to day life. Work, leisure, financial security, and emotional well being often most affected. This commentary provides an analysis of those factors that inhibit (barriers) and support (enablers) the provision of hand therapy rehabilitation in rural and remote areas. Providing a collaborative and flexible rehabilitation programme to rural and remote residents following a traumatic hand injury can be seen as a challenge due to issues such as a limited access to health care services. Established protocols that work in regional or metropolitan locations are unlikely to be effective and innovative and pragmatic strategies are required. The provision of a collaborative and flexible rehabilitation programme regardless of residential location is an important part of the therapist's intervention plan.