What is Hand Therapy?
Hand therapy is the science of measuring and treating injuries and conditions of shoulder, elbow, wrist, elbow, and hand. In hand therapy, occupation therapists use therapeutic interventions to bring back the patient’s highest flexibility. Hand therapists should have enough knowledge and experience to handle cases.
Experienced hand therapists help their patients to recover from severe hand and upper extremity injuries. A hand therapist is also known as the occupational therapist ( OT) or physiotherapist who has a proper degree, education, knowledge, and practical experience.
He also should have integrated knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, and physiology. This knowledge helps them to become eligible to diagnose the pathological conditions of the upper extremity resulting from congenital and acquired deformity, trauma, and disease.
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What does a hand therapist do?
A hand therapist resolves all kinds of hand conditions, but before that, he has to achieve advanced certification as a certified hand therapist; He is often referred to as C.H.T. To get the C.H.T. credential, a hand therapist should practice a minimum of three years, which means at least 4,000 hours of treatment for hands and upper extremity disorder.
A certified hand therapist must clear a series of rigorous certification exams ( written and practical) to prove their competency level. They have to face enormous challenges similar to M.B.B.S. doctors.
A hand therapist is considered to be the leading therapist if he has more than ten years of experience in this field. As C.H.T. specializes in treating hands and upper extremity conditions, they work closely with an orthopedic surgeon to ensure the outcome.
Who can benefit from hand therapy?
Our hand therapist helps patients who are going through the below-mentioned conditions or suffering from chronic trauma injuries of the upper extremities, including shoulder, arms, and fingers. They also treat patients who suffer from chronic wrist pain and hand functionalities, autoimmune disorder and neurological abnormalities, diabetes, chronic pain, musician’s cramp, birth anomalies, movement disorders associated with psychological defects.
Conditions are enlisted below:
- Hand trauma and injuries
- Fractures and dislocation
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Ligament tears and tendon injuries
- Tendonitis and arthritis
- Peripheral nerve disorder, neurological conditions
- Dupuytren’s contracture
- Burn, infection
- Join replacement
- Sports injury
- Lymphedema
- Hand, arm disability comes from stroke
- Amputations & reattachments.
What does hand therapy involve?
Hand treatment comprises a wide range of restoration medicines. They can be non-employable, precautionary, or post-careful. When a C.H.T. has assessed your condition and talked with your specialist or doctor, the individual in question will foster a treatment program that best suits your necessities.
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Some basic therapy categories are such as:
- Injury management education
- Range of motion activities
- Nerve desensitization
- Soft tissue procedure
- Range of motions activity
- Joint movement activity
- Dexterity training
- Pain management
- Occupational conditioning
- Iontophoresis
- Taping
What kind of injuries and illnesses can hand therapy treat?
Hand therapy can be utilized to treat numerous normal conditions. It reduces torment and assists patients with recovering normal versatility and usefulness. It can get to the next level:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Hand or arm pain and numbness developed due to pinched nerve
Cubital tunnel syndrome: Hand or arm pain, muscle soreness, tingling, numbness develop due to pinching nerve
Ganglion cyst: Wrist or hand benign lump develops on the joints and tendon
Hand pain: Rigid hand with limited flexibility, or turning the wrist. Repetitive motion disorder: It can take place in any part of the upper extremity- joint pain, tenderness, tingling, and muscle weakness develop due to excessive use or repetitive movements.
Golfer’s elbow: Tingling, soreness, tenderness, stiffness developed due to forceful stress to that particular area.
Trigger finger: finger – clicking, popping, firmness, or delicacy brought about by an excited ligament that causes the finger to stall out in a bowed position. De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: Wrist tenderness, swelling, the pain developed due to repetitive movements.
Burns and wounds: Any part of the upper extremity, including pain, redness, blistering, developed due to dermatological complications.
Dupuytren’s contracture: ring and pinky finger – bowed finger or bump situated in the palm, brought about by tissue fixing and thickening in hand. Joint injury, illness, disease
Fine motor skill deficiency: Abnormality in hands and finger coordination muscle weakness developed due to strokes, dyspraxia, and strokes.
Arthritis: Hand arthritis is very common among women because they put a lot of stress on their wrists and hands to accomplish their household chores. With increasing age, women start to lose their bone mineral density and develop arthritis. Arthritis comes with stiffness, sharp pain, swelling, infections.
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What can you expect during a hand therapy appointment?
Your hand therapist gives you different hand therapy exercises and measures the progress after every session. He also measures your range of motion, forearm strength, nerve sensation, posture movements in every visit, depending upon your requirements. He also provides exercises for further rehabilitation. This kind of activity helps you heal fast.
