Physi­ot­he­rapists assist and encourage the development of someone who has a disability, is injured, or requires assistance to complete activities of daily living. They do this via physio sessions, education and therapy. They support people with neurological conditions like strokes and Parkinson's, neuro­mus­cu­los­ke­letal problems such as back pain and arthritis. They also deal with a person's cardiovascular and respiratory complications.

So how can Tenura daily living aids assist the lives of Physi­ot­he­rapists and their Patients?

Grip-Enhancing Silicone Rolls for Physi­ot­he­rapists

You can wrap Tenura silicone roll around grab rails at the practice. This aids with a person's mobility as the silicone roll is grip-enhancing, making it perfect for people with weak grip strength. It also provides a layer of comfort for the user to hold. Use Tenura grip roll to adapt equipment making it more accessible for your patient, such as their pre-existing mobility aids.

You can make all sorts of grip aids from Tenura silicone rolls. You cut the roll down to the desired shape and wrap it around objects, including handles

Tenura grip roll can help with equipment application by keeping splints and other apparatus in a still position during physiotherapy rehabilitation sessions.

Some physi­ot­he­rapists use silicone roll for massage therapy on scar tissue. They say it softens tendons following surgery when used in conjunction with massage methods.

When positioning a patient during respiratory physiotherapy, Tenura non-slip roll can help with stabilisation. Positioning is the term used to promote optimal recovery and reduce the risk of pain and swelling.

Colour Contrast/Visual Aid Methods in Physiotherapy

When conducting forms of therapy with a partially sighted person, the contrast between objects is vital. For example, the phrase "it's black and white" means it's clear because there's a stark difference between them tonally, which helps individuals distinguish them. The majority of Tenura products come in vivid red, blue or yellow, making them excellent visual aids.

There are trip hazards everywhere you go, and in a clinic, you must reduce risks such as this. You can add strips of bright red or blue silicone roll to hazardous items, things such as door stops which are often grey and camouflage into their surroundings.

Red silicone roll works exceptionally well at highlighting danger, as it's customary to signify hazards and heat in this way. For instance, stop signs are red, and when you're running out of petrol, the gauge dips into the red. In your physiotherapy clinic, you can highlight steps, hot surfaces and other dangers effortlessly.

An example of using blue grip roll within the clinic could be to make light switches more prominent. Make table corners and other sharp edges that could cause harm to stand out by using strips of blue grip roll.

Red and blue silicone rolls come in two variants non-adhesive and adhesive-backed, the latter being a more permanent non-slip­/grip-enhancing solution. There are also pre-cut grip strips available from the Tenura website.

Non-Slip Floor Mat Uses in Physiotherapy

When aiding a wheelchair user in and out of a wheelchair, a non-slip floor mat can give them a foothold, stopping them from slipping. It can also provide a level of confidence to the user and make them more surefooted.

When a person is standing up from a chair, the chair can jolt backwards on slippery clinic floors. By placing a non-slip floor mat underneath, you can add a layer of safety, which is essential when evaluating the person's fall risk.

During weight-bearing procedures in your practice, where you move a person from one surface to another, Tenura non-slip mats can be a real benefit. Use non-slip mats as a preventative measure for slipping/­falling during this procedure. With both your feet and your client's feet safely positioned on a non-slip mat, the risks involved reduce as you both have a secure foothold, which would not be the case on smooth slippy clinic floors.

Non-Slip Table Mats for Self-Feeding­/Eating

Having a non-slip table mat under your patient's plate during self-feeding allows the user to exert more force, and if required, they can eat with one hand because the non-slip mat and plate remain in place. This real-world example is an executable daily exercise they can use at home or in the clinic to increase their eating competency.

Cutlery Grips for Physiotherapy Sessions

With age, dexterity decreases, so developing fine motor skills in your patient is vital. We utilise our fine motor skills in everyday life, such as buttoning up a shirt, which can be difficult, especially if the movement of your hands is limited.

Often as a physiotherapist for seniors, handwriting practice is encouraged to progress a client's fine motor skills. To make this task more accessible, you can slide a Tenura cutlery grip onto a pen, improving grip and comfort due to the handle's increased surface area and the grip-enhancing properties of the silicone cutlery grip.

Eating involves a few steps that develop fine motor skills, such as using cutlery correctly, transferring food from fork to mouth, and using a knife for cutting. Sliding Tenura cutlery grips onto a fork or knife improves the persons capacity to hold and use their utensils, adding comfort and control.

Paediatric physi­ot­he­rapists will know that children have to learn fine motor skills, and following the above examples can push them to excel. We have Children's cutlery grips available designed for small hands.

Non-Slip Fabric for Hippotherapy Sessions

In hippotherapy, also known as equine-assisted therapy (physical and occupational therapy utilising the temperament and mobility of horses), you can place a piece of non-slip fabric between the rider and the saddle to ensure they don't slide off. It can also add additional grip to the reins making Tenura non-slip fabric advantageous during hippotherapy. Alternatively, silicone grip rolls would also provide similar results.

Bottle Openers in Physiotherapy Sessions

Recovery and re-establishment of independence are the primary goals of physiotherapy. Things such as opening bottles may be a big feat for your patient, and a daily living aid can be of help. For pill bottles, a grip-enhancing bottle opener can aid your patient, helping them to reach their goals quickly and encourage them to venture beyond their perceived limited ability.

 

At Tenura, we want to thank all physi­ot­he­rapists for their dedicated work improving the quality of life of their patients. If you have any further uses you would like to share with the physiotherapy community, get in touch, and we will add it to the blog.

 

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Tenura's range of independent living aids has been helping to make daily tasks easier for a long period. We now offer a special combination of our daily living aids that will provide a great solution to grip problems, whether at home or work! Tenura kitchen packs are a combination of three of our silicone products, designed to provide a high-quality non-slip and grip-enhancing surface and a safe way to open bottles, jars, and containers. Kitchen packs include a silicone jar opener, bottle opener, and a 19cm circular anti-slip coaster. This combination of kitchen aids can make daily tasks easier and relieve strain on muscles and joints.

Work in the kitchen, whether professional or not, is hard work. From preparing the food to chopping, mixing, and mashing, it can be a real exercise to create a decent meal for yourself or others. For those who have Arthritis, this can be even more of a task. Arthritis can make small tasks such as this, very painful and strenuous on the muscles and joints in your hand and arms, meaning a simple task can take a great deal of effort to accomplish. Simple tasks like opening and closing bottles and containers can be a real struggle for those with physical impairments as they cannot form a firm enough grip to open containers with twist tops easily. Tenura has handpicked some nifty kitchen aids to help combat the difficulties people with Arthritis deal with daily.

Tenura jar openers create a strong grip around jar lids and tops, making them easier to twist and open. Jar openers are ideal for people living with Arthritis as it will take away the need for a large amount of force to grip the lid or top and instead allow you to twist it open smoothly. Tenura jar openers have a strong, non-toxic silicone construction and can be washed with ease (dishwasher safe), allowing them to be used in high hygiene areas.

Tenura bottle openers offer the same grip-enhancing properties but in a smaller format to help open smaller twist tops, amongst other things. Bottle openers are designed to fit around bottles, medicine containers, taps, and many other items, making them easier and more comfortable to open! Like Tenura jar openers, bottle openers are also non-toxic and completely phthalate-free.

The last product in this combination of daily living aids is the Tenura silicone circular anti-slip coaster. Tenura non-slip coasters offer a non-slip surface that can be used as a mat or a coaster thanks to its size (19cm diameter) and shape. Like many other Tenura anti-slip mats and coasters, Tenura silicone will adhere to a clean, dry surface without additional adhesive, instantly forming a non-slip grip that will help prevent unwanted movement from objects that rest on the coaster. Providing an excellent surface for placing a chopping board, mixing bowl, or due to its high-temperature resistance (up to 250°C), hot pans and plates also, preventing unwanted movement that could lead to spills, stains, and potential injuries.

Tenura kitchen packs create the perfect range of independent living aids to help with every aspect of cooking, preparing food and other daily tasks, making them easier and more comfortable. All items in the kitchen pack can also be bought separately.

Tenura Kitchen packs have been created to offer a complete package for use in the kitchen, or around the home or workplace, and can be purchased on our website. Make sure to contact us with any questions regarding these products and the rest of the Tenura range.

Tenura kitchen pack = 1 x Non-slip jar opener | 1 x Non-slip bottle opener | 1 x Non-slip coaster

Buying them together will give you a group of silicone kitchen aids in one convenient kitchen pack that will help you overcome grip problems at home or in the workplace.

Tenura kitchen packs have been created to offer a complete package, for use in kitchens, or around the home or workplace and are available to purchase on our website. Make sure to contact us with any questions you may have regarding the Tenura kitchen pack. You can do this through our social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), the contact us form.

At the Gairdner Foundation International Award ceremony in Canada this year, two of Britain’s leading biomedical researchers, where presented with The Canada Gairdner Award for their research into which molecules cause inflammation and destruction of joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Professor Sir Ravinder Maini and Professor Sir Marc Feldmann have been working in the biomedical field for decades, and the award presented was for the research they both performed in the 1980s. These Gentlemen discovered anti-TNF (Tumour necrosis factor) treatment for RA. Anti TNF therapy is now used to block anti bodies, allowing a swift improvement for suffers of rheumatoid arthritis. TNF is a protein messenger molecule, which drives the inflammation in the joints, so by creating the drug, they could prevent inflammation and further damage by effectively blocking TNF.

This research was crucial to enabling major development in effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, and since then has had an incredible impact on the world, allowing the correct treatment to be given out to RA suffers  worldwide, giving millions of people a better quality of life. Identifying which molecules cause inflammation and destruction of joints meant that these Gentlemen provided the stepping-stones for organisations to create treatments to try to break down these molecules building in joints, allowing the pain and inflammation to subside for a period. By regularly taking the medication, arthritis suffers no longer have to deal with the pain and difficulty that everyday tasks created for them previously.

Tenura shares this vision of making life easier for those that suffer with impairments to strength of grip, which adds unnecessary difficulties to everyday life. Our silicone jar and bottle openers are just two of our products dedicated to those who suffer from pains in joints, making certain tasks easier to do, and relieving the pain that normally comes with them.

We congratulate Professors Ravinder Maini and Marc Feldmann for their efforts to help people suffering from RA, and outstanding research into the causes of arthritis.