Hand Therapy
A hand therapist is a registered occupational therapist or physiotherapist who specialises in the rehabilitation of patients with conditions affecting the hands and upper limb.
About Hand Therapy
An experienced hand therapist can evaluate and identify problems affecting the upper limbs. They can provide advice regarding exercise, preventative care, aids to daily living and ergonomic consultation.
- An ergonomic consultation helps you find ways to use your hands and arms more comfortably during everyday activities. This might include looking at your work setup, equipment or the way you carry out particular tasks then suggesting changes to reduce strain and make things easier.
A hand therapist often works alongside surgeons, planning and implementing the right care after surgery to help patients recover as quickly as possible.
For some conditions (such as flexor tendon injury), it is essential to see a hand therapist on several occasions to ensure a good recovery. For others (for example, a wrist fracture) it depends on how the hand reacts to an injury or operation, and the demands of the individual patient. Sometimes, hand therapy will not be required and the hand will be expected to recover naturally.
An important role of Hand Therapists is to educate patients, for example, how to move their hand or whether and how to protect it. Usually patients are given exercises to do. Much of this can be guided by using the Hand Therapy App, which you can download for free here.
How can I get Hand Therapy locally?
For complex conditions, you will be referred by your surgeon but in Gloucestershire you can self-refer for many conditions.
- Patients in Cheltenham or Gloucester can self-refer here.
- You can also self refer to your local community hospital here.