Imagine losing your grip - in a real sense. Many people have either injured their hand or have a condition that affects movement or sensation. And many of them don’t know about specialized therapy just for the hands.
“Hand therapy has been around for quite a few years. Actually the certification process for hand therapy began back in 1991,” says Brett Bennett, who is a certified hand therapist for Lee Memorial Health System.
Still this aspect of rehab is new to many people. Wonder if you might benefit? You can count the reasons on one hand. First, it helps people recover from surgery.
“Possibly related to arthritis in their thumbs and they’ve had a special surgery on their thumbs. We’ll get them referred to us to do splinting initially, then exercises to begin range of motion. Then eventually begin some strengthening exercises,” says Bennett.
Second are patients who suffered a hand injury.
“Due to maybe an electrical saw or to a knife or to glass, we’ll get them referred to us involving a splint fabrication, scar management,” says Bennett.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a third aspect of care. Therapy to regain function used to be very common, but is less so today as people are more aware of the issue and get help earlier.
Bone breaks are something that can’t be anticipated, but leave patients in need of a helping hand.
“Someone has had a wrist fracture or a distal radius fracture. We’ll assess their range of motion, assess their swelling,” says Bennett.
Rounding out the handful of benefits, a hand therapist can help people who may have lost their nerve.
“We would teach them exercises to help re-educate the nerve. Teach them also manipulation type exercises to get them used to handling different type textures,” says Bennett.
Call it a healing touch, helping hand patients regain control.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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