Imagine not being able to do the dozens of tasks you perform with your hands daily. This is what a hand injury or hand disorder can do to you. It severely limits your movements and daily functioning.
4 in 10 people are at risk of developing a medical condition in their hands, with the lifetime risk being 47 percent in women and 27 percent in men.
Fortunately, hand therapy can help you improve your condition and restore normal functioning. Read this article to learn more about it.
What Is Hand Therapy?
Hand therapy is a physical therapy treatment. It’s conducted manually by a professional physical therapist (PT) or occupational therapist (OT). These therapists make use of several techniques to relieve hand pain.
They may also recommend stretching, custom splinting, retraining techniques, or hand exercises to improve your hand’s functioning.
What Is Hand Therapy Helpful For?
Hand therapy is beneficial for treating arms, hands, or upper limbs injuries. The injuries could have been caused by physical trauma, arthritis, or surgery. Moreover, professional hand therapy can help reduce general pain, swelling, stiffness in ligaments, joints, and tendons and address fine motor issues.
It effectively manages disorders like tendinitis, osteoarthritis, dislocations, and fractures.
Benefits Of Hand Therapy
Here are some reasons you need hand therapy:
- It’s a chemical/medication-free and non-surgical method for treatment
- It can be used both as a conservative or preventative method
- It’s a conservative and non-invasive treatment method, so it can save you from a reparative/corrective surgery
- It can increase joint mobility, strength, and dexterity
- It helps reduce and/or manage chronic and acute joint pain
- It’s effective in desensitizing the nerves following a trauma or injury
- A hand therapist provides a convenient home exercise program for faster muscular conditioning and quicker rehabilitation
- Hand therapy can also help you successfully carry out everyday tasks
Finally, it gives you a renewed sense of confidence so you can live your life to your full capacity.
If you have a hand injury or chronic pain in your arms or hands, your best option is to visit a certified hand therapist. These individuals hold an advanced certification and practice of three years (4000 hours at least). They also work closely with general and orthopedic surgeons to maximize the results of hand therapy.
This makes them highly qualified and competent to deal with your condition.
At Able Hands Rehab, we are a group of certified hand therapists. We specialize in occupational therapy (OT) and hand pain treatment.
Contact us today to get in touch with a certified hand therapist in NJ.
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