Who can we help?
Who we can help?
- Hand therapists are specialists who are able to assess people with pain, weakness, sensory change, loss of movement and other problems affecting the hand, wrist and forearm.
- Assessment will include history taking, understanding the functions you undertake in life, observation and palpation of structures and detailed analysis of aspects of the hand such as range of movement, dexterity, sensation, swelling and strength.
- Hand therapists work with people who have a short term or long term dysfunction in their hand which may have arisen from:
- Arthritis
- Work related upper limb disorders (such as "RSI")
- Fractures and other trauma
- Soft tissue injuries (to ligament, muscle etc)
- Compression syndromes (such as tendinitis and carpal tunnel)
- Dupuytren's disease
- Wrist conditions such as pain and instabilities
- Sports injuries
- Neurological and other conditions requiring splinting for tone or contracture
- Professional groups such as musicians, hairdressers and teenagers taking exams - all of whom have a higher incidence of hand probelms
- Hand therapists work very closely with hand surgeons and rheumatologists making a team of experts to address every hand, wrist and forearm problem
Kinesiology taping
Kinesiology tape is a fantastic modality and often used in hand therapy. Depending on how it is applied, it can enhance or inhibit muscle function, improve proprioception, help reduce swelling and help with problem scars.
If this treatment is right for you, your hand therapist will teach you how to apply it yourself.
