Hand & Wrist Therapy

Hand & wrist therapy is all about treating conditions that affect your shoulders, wrists, hands, arms, forearms and elbows. It also improves the dexterity and strength of your hands and fingers. Thus, there are three circumstances where hand therapy is highly beneficial: 

• Treatment of conditions affecting the upper part of the body 
• Prevent conditions such as arthritis from worsening 
• Improving fine motor skills after a neurological disorder 

Hand therapists are physiotherapists who specialize in treating hands, wrists and elbows. They evaluate and assess the condition before developing a customized treatment plan for your specific needs. 

What Can Hand & Wrist Therapy Do For Me?

We use the upper part of our body more than we realize. Take your hands for instance. You use your hands for most activities every day. The same goes for elbows, arms, etc. Thus, it is not uncommon to end up overusing hands. So, hand & wrist therapy is a hand rehabilitation treatment that helps you return to a normal lifestyle. 

Here’s what hand & wrist therapy does for you: 

Pain management

The hand therapist reduces your pain and inflammation through several techniques: 

• Dry needling 
• Electrical stimulation 
• Kinesiology 
• Ultrasound 
• McConnell taping 

Muscle strengthening

There are specific exercises for muscle imbalance and weakness. The occupational therapist prescribes specific muscle-strengthening exercises to restore the strength in your hands. The treatment procedure includes the use of body weight, weights and exercise bands. These exercises also improve your bone strength and muscular fitness. 

Improved motion

Injuries to the hands and wrists limit your movement to a considerable extent. Thus, the occupational therapist may prescribe a specific range of motion exercises to restore your flexibility. The three types of range of motion exercises include Active ROM, Passive ROM and Active-assisted ROM exercises. 

Better mobility in joints & muscles

There are hands-on manual therapies that can improve mobility in your hands and muscles. The techniques include: 

• Myofascial release 
• Soft tissue mobilization 
• Joint manipulation 
• Traction 
• Graston therapy 

The hand therapist first assesses your condition to understand the exact source of the pain. Then they customize a treatment regime unique to your condition. 

What are the Common Hand Injuries?

• Arthritis 
• Golfer’s Elbow 
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 
• Tennis Elbow 
• Wrist and elbow pain 
• Sports injuries 
• Fractures of elbows, wrist, hand and fingers 
• Tendon injuries 
• Congenital hand conditions 
• Tendonitis 

What to Expect at Physiotherapy Clinic?

You might have several queries if you are visiting the physiotherapy clinic for the first time. Well, hand physiotherapists work on your treatment in the following phases: 

• Pain assessment- We assess your pain to understand how severe it is and how many sessions you need for complete recovery. 
• Evaluation of your range of motion and strength– The hand therapist evaluates your strength and range of motion as well. 
• Goal setting– They consult with you and set health goals that you want to achieve over the course of therapy. 

They prepare and start working on the treatment regime once all the above-mentioned phases are completed. 

All in all, hand or wrist injuries are quite common among people. There is nothing to panic about since the injuries are treatable. Physiotherapy can help you recover efficiently without surgeries or medications.