If you require hand therapy, it is important to go to a therapist that has advanced certification and qualifying skills as this is a specialized area of rehabilitation.
Certified Hand Therapists or CHT’s are occupational or physical therapists that have additional education, training, and testing that earned them those specific credentials. These CHT’s focus on arm and hand conditions.
Certified Hand Therapists
These hand therapists work with people who are recovering from hand surgery, an injury, or other specific medical conditions like arthritis, stroke, traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other conditions that have a direct effect on the ability of the hands to function properly.
This specified type of therapy may also benefit burn, amputation, or trauma victims. When you have undergone hand surgery, your tendons, nerves, and joints need to be manipulated in specific ways in order to return them to full function.
What To Expect
When being treated by our Atlanta orthopedic doctors for hand therapy, they will determine what is required to help you meet your goals. Pain and swelling may be reduced by hand therapy and strength and coordination can be restored. If you have any specific symptoms, goals, or concerns, these should be addressed by your hand therapist. Our orthopedic doctors will create an individualized treatment plan to help you achieve your goals while improving the function of your hand.
At your initial appointment, our orthopedic doctors will examine your hand and do various measurements to see how strong your fingers are, how coordinated your hand is and how much sensation you have. Movement of joints will also be measured and any sores, swelling, or abnormalities will be documented.
Hand Therapy Is Customized To Support Your Unique Needs
The hand therapy treatments that will be recommended to you will be specific to the condition you have, the extent of it, and what your expectations are. Splinting and hand exercises are common during therapy. It may be required of you to wear hand splints while working, resting, or both during your treatment.
These splints help your hand to heal, improve overall function of the hand, and may reduce pain. Certain modalities like heat, ice, ultrasound, or electrical stimulation may be recommended by our orthopedic doctors. On occasion, wound treatment is included in hand therapy, such as burn debridement. You may be recommended to use adaptive devices during your treatment to help you function easier, like eating or writing tools.
Hand therapists may also perform workplace evaluations in industrial settings to help prevent any injury that may occur. Alternative work methods or changes to work station set up may be recommended to prevent trauma.
Learn More
Returning to work can also be easier with the help of a hand therapist. If you feel you would benefit from hand therapy, call our office at (404) 855-2141 and get an appointment today.
