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.
A hand therapist’s high level of specialization requires advanced post-graduate education and clinical experience. This enables him or her to help patients return to a productive lifestyle following injury, disease or deformity affecting the hand.
An experienced hand therapist can evaluate and identify problems affecting the upper limbs. He or she can provide advice regarding exercise, preventative care, aids to daily living and ergonomic consultation.
A hand therapist often works alongside surgeons, planning and implementing post-operative care in order to hasten patients’ recovery following surgery.
At The Hand Therapy Clinic our hand therapist works closely with referring consultants, GPs and other allied health professionals in planning necessary interventions and facilitating timely, effective specialist hand or upper limb rehabilitation. In delivering our treatment we strive to remain consistent with our core values and deliver care to you with these always at the forefront of what we do. The Treatment Values at the core of The Hand Therapy Clinic include:
Excellence: We strive to provide you with excellent care, backed by years of clinical practice and current evidence based research.
Kindness: We practice using a holistic paradigm where we adopt a biopsychosocial approach to care. This means that we incorporate psychological, environmental, social and physical influences on your treatment and care.
Respect and Responsibility: We endeavour to always respect the individual’s journey with their injury. For some this will be relatively straightforward, an injury following a preceding trauma or event, for others with more chronic symptoms this may be more complex and require a more holistic approach to treatment. Our responsibility is always to the patient and always to deliver the best possible care in an efficient and timely manner. Often this means a collaborative approach with other healthcare specialists, which we are always happy to assist with, should referrals or advice be required from elsewhere.
At your initial appointment you can expect an assessment of your pain and symptoms and a tailor-made treatment programme to assist with managing your condition. We can also assist with implementing strategies in your daily life to enable you to continue to work, play or compete in your chosen field. At your first visit please bring with you any information such as a referral, imaging or any other reports you may have about your arm, wrist or hand problem. You are very welcome to bring a support person to your appointment to accompany you.
You can request an appointment via our <a href="https://thehandtherapyclinic.ie/booking/">booking page here</a>.
If you would prefer to speak directly to a hand therapist, please contact us on: <a class="block-right" href="tel:00353896067238"><strong class="header">089 606 7238</strong></a> and we will endeavour to return your call as soon as possible.
<ul>
<li>Custom-made splint fabrication – resting splints, post-operative splints, splints to protect minor injuries and secondary deficits, exercise and mobilisation splints and joint protection splints.</li>
<li>Kinesiotaping – to manage pain, support</li>
<li>Tailored exercise programs</li>
<li>Joint and tendon mobilisation</li>
<li>Full assessments of hand function</li>
<li>Joint protection and energy conservation techniques</li>
<li>Functional rehabilitation</li>
<li>Scar management including measuring for pressure garments</li>
<li>Wound care</li>
<li>Oedema management</li>
<li>Sensory assessment</li>
<li>Sensory re-education</li>
<li>Desensitisation</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Fractures</li>
<li>Dislocations</li>
<li>Dupuytren’s disease</li>
<li>Carpal Tunnel Syndrome</li>
<li>Tendon Injuries and transfers</li>
<li>Osteoarthritis</li>
<li>Rheumatoid Arthritis</li>
<li>Ligament injuries</li>
<li>Ganglions</li>
<li>Soft tissue injuries</li>
<li>Scar hypersensitivity</li>
<li>Tendonopathies</li>
<li>Wrist pain</li>
<li>Crush injuries</li>
<li>Swelling</li>
<li>Complex regional pain syndrome</li>
<li>Trigger finger</li>
<li>Nerve injuries</li>
<li>Sports Injuries</li>
<li>Post-operative management of Joint Replacements and Fusions</li>
<li>Scarring</li>
</ul>