It’s natural to think in structural terms when considering the value of the treatment we provide, because O&P care is so closely identified with the provision of a device. Individuals are referred to us following impairments in body structure and function, including missing, misaligned, or malfunctioning body segments resulting from trauma, loss of neurological or motor control, or other pathologies. We evaluate biomechanical needs and recommend a specific design that provides structural solutions to the problems we determine to be most limiting. Practitioners also recognize that structural problems and solutions have functional consequences, and that functional capacity impacts participation in activities necessary for maintaining independence in life and the enjoyment of it. All the links in this chain of the patient’s experience must be considered when making clinical recommendations.
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