“Frustrating disability”: The lived experience of coping with the rehabilitation phase following flexor tendon surgery

Abstract

Challenging rehabilitation regimes following flexor tendon surgery require patients to complete an hourly exercise regime and wear a thermoplastic splint constantly for four to six weeks. Building on earlier research by the first author the data from his interviews of five peoples' experiences and meanings of their rehabilitation was re-analysed using a phenomenological lifeworld approach. The individuals were found to cope in different ways and degrees with the frustration of disability. Three themes*''struggling-adapting'', ''retreating-battling'' and ''denying-accepting''*capture something of the ambivalence of their experience. The findings also provide insight into how flexor tendon injury, and subsequent surgery and rehabilitation, impact on individuals' lifeworlds. Damage wreaked on daily life comes as a surprise. In different ways, they are all challenged to come to terms with the shock of pain, disability and the double trauma of surgery and rehabilitation. The challenge also involves an emotional and social struggle as personal relationships are disrupted. Three types of phenomenological analyses*narrative, lifeworld and thematic*are presented as iterative, deepening elaborations. Together they offer a more holistic, if still tentative, picture highlighting the relevance of attending to peoples' personal, social and practical responses beyond simply focusing in reductionist ways on physical function.

Perceptions of Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy About the Relevance of, and Adherence to, Exercise Programs: A Qualitative Study

“…The lack of such a relationship led to feelings of frustration, isolation, and sometimes guilt. As Fitzpatrick and Finley (2008) observed: "if health professionals commit to service users' personal, social and practical responses, the frustrating impacts of disability stand a better chance of being frustrated" (p. 153).…”

Introducing early active mobilisation following flexor tendon repair in the context of care in a developing country: A randomised feasibility study

“…Flexor tendon injuries to the hand often result in poor outcomes and restricted functional hand use, with negative implications for independence and quality of life 1,2 . Flexor tendon rehabilitation aims to achieve a balance between optimal range of motion (ROM) and normal tendon excursion while protecting the repair.…”

“…In addition, regaining ROM does not automatically translate to return to functional hand use. Outcomes are commonly poor and complications plague the post-operative period 1,2,9 . Moreover, there is a dearth of evidence from developing country contexts.…”

The patient's experience of early discharge following total hip replacement

“…This confirms the findings of the study by Shen et al (2004) that identified that individuals with social support achieved better health outcomes, irrespective of stressors. Social support and networks were important to the participants in this study and have been identified in other studies that have focused on coping and adaptation to illness and recovery (Fitzpatrick and Finlay, 2008;Reinhardt et al, 2009;Shen et al, 2004). Being aware of the impact of social isolation on the recovery process enables clinicians to develop strategies in consultation with the patient to reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness during their rehabilitation.…”