Recently, a client came to us with severe pain in her hand and wrist. In fact, she was in so much pain that she tried to convince her doctor to fast-track her to the operating room. However, her doctor encouraged her to try therapy first.

Every treatment at Spooner begins with a thorough evaluation, and it was discovered she had undergone a surgery in her upper chest area. This insight was critical as she was experiencing classic Carpal Tunnel symptoms which can be caused by an elevated second rib.

Part of her treatment plan focused on her rib region. After just three visits, this patient came to us all smiles and she was completely free of pain! This is the power of physical hand therapy, and why it’s worth a try before opting in for surgery.

What Can Hand Therapy Treat?

One of the most common diagnosis for hand therapy is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The pain occurs when the Median Nerve compresses as it travels through the carpal tunnel in the wrist, and is generally caused from repetitive motion such as typing on a keyboard, playing an instrument, or playing certain sports. 

There are many reasons your doctor may prescribe hand therapy such as tremors, a tingling sensation, pinching pain, or  spinal cord compression. These are just a few symptoms where you will want to seek out a hand therapists who is specialized in healing you rebuild strength and functional use of your hand.

Hand therapy focuses exclusively on the rehabilitation of the upper extremity: from shoulder to fingers due to trauma, injury, repetitive use or neurological changes due to spinal injury or cord compression. If you’re prescribed hand therapy, you’ll first receive a comprehensive evaluation. This is where a hand therapist will get to know your full health history, including past injuries and surgeries. As our introductory story illustrated, this portion of the exam is critical to ensuring we get you on the right treatment plan from the start.

What Will Happen At My Appointment?

We’ll perform several tests and evaluate your current strength ability, take range of motion measurements, perform sensory testing and coordination testing. Each of these tests provides additional information to help us develop a treatment plan specific for your needs.

Each appointment will generally begin with a hot pack heat treatment in order to decrease inflammation and help with pain control. Throughout the session, we’ll go through a series of exercises or manual therapies that are designed to improve both passive and active range of motion, along with focusing on strengthening in order to increase function in the fingers, hand, wrist, elbow, or shoulder.  

There are many benefits with hand therapy, and most patients report being pleasantly surprised at the results. Most commonly they experience reduced pain and less inflammation, and the best part is they’re able to perform daily activities with greater strength and improved coordination.

At Spooner Physical Therapy, our hand therapists are trained to provide a customized treatment plan.  Most of our hand therapists have obtained their CHT (Certification in Hand Therapy) credentials. In order to become a CHT, hand therapists must work in their field for a minimum of three years, complete at least 4,000 hours working as a hand therapists in order to be able to take the exam.  Once meeting all the qualifications and passing the CHT exam, hand therapists are qualified as experts in the upper extremity from the shoulder to fingertips.  Furthermore, our hand therapists are equipped to create an endless variety of custom splints to aid you in your recovery. Some splints may have no joints and are for  supporting and protecting the area, and others may have multiple joints and even hinges allowing for more function and movement. 

Learn more about Hand Therapy at Spooner Physical Therapy. Ready to schedule an appointment? Click Here to schedule an appointment or complimentary movement screen with a Spooner physical therapist at one of our locations throughout the valley.