[The use of occupational therapy in upper limb amputees]

Since pre-history until modern times, the ever more refined use of the hand has been fundamental to the progress of mankind. The list of functions of this incredible part of the body would fill several pages and show its fundamental importance in all our actions; in fact, there is very little that humans do that does not involve the use of the hands. The hand offers points for unlimited dissertation and is the executive organ par excellence, carrying out directly or participating in almost all our actions; it is an organ for communication and an instrument of well-being as well as being the main site of one of the five senses: touch. On this background, attention will be focused on the importance that the hand plays in daily life and, particularly, on the difficulties inevitably faced by people who are forced to live without a hand, even if replaced by an orthopaedic prosthesis. This is the sense of occupational therapy in the context of upper limb amputees.