Hand And Upper Extremity Rehabilitation
Hand therapy is about more than just hands. It’s the art and science of rehabilitating the entire upper extremity – shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist and hand. The specialized hand therapists at East End Occupational Therapy combine comprehensive knowledge of this anatomy with advanced skills in the treatment of hand and upper extremity dysfunctions. We know how to restore function. Our therapists work closely with your doctor to provide the most effective upper extremity care available. That’s why doctors prefer East End Occupational Therapy for patients in need of hand and upper extremity rehabilitation.
A hand therapist provides care for patients with a diversity of upper extremity disorders and injuries, from simple fingertip injuries to replanted extremities. Diagnosis include but are not limited to patients with crush injuries; tendon and/or ligament lacerations/repairs; tendinopathies; peripheral nerve disorders; fractures/dislocations; infections; sports related syndromes and many more. Hand therapists also treat patients who suffer from chronic problems which effect upper extremity function such as autoimmune disorders, neurological conditions, pain, diabetes, focal dystonia, congenital anomalies and psychogenic disorders involving the upper quarter.
When you have pain and immobility in the shoulder, elbow or wrist, you need help regaining freedom of movement and freedom from pain. This is where East End Occupational Therapy thrives; we use comprehensive hands-on techniques and proven modalities to treat shoulder, elbow and wrist pain caused by injury, surgery, overuse and other conditions. By combining experienced care with a one-on-one patient focus, we can help achieve better results for you.
We will thoroughly evaluate your health and pain history. This evaluation gives us an understanding of how the pain evolved (you may have had a traumatic injury, a gradual injury or one that just appeared “out of the blue”), what positions make the pain better or worse and what types of daily activities you perform that may contribute to your pain. After we complete this evaluation, we will check your range of motion, flexibility, strength, sensation, posture and other points that may affect your pain experience… and then create a customized treatment program based on our findings.
Shoulder pain conditions
Common causes of shoulder pain include rotator cuff injuries (common in adults over 50), impingement, muscle tears, inflammation of the bursa (bursitis), frozen shoulder, joint instability, tendonitis and arthritis.
Elbow pain conditions
Common elbow conditions include golfer’s elbow, or medial epicondylitis, tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, olecranon bursitis and cubital tunnel syndrome (very similar to carpal tunnel syndrome except that the nerve compressed is at the elbow, causing slightly different symptoms) and also fractures of the elbow. These conditions can cause pain, swelling and stiffness.
Wrist pain conditions
The wrist is also subject to trauma, repetitive-stress injuries and other conditions. Perhaps the best known of these is carpal tunnel syndrome, an overuse condition that pinches a nerve in the wrist and causes pain or numbness. Other causes of wrist pain include tendonitis, fracture, dislocation, sprain, ganglion cyst and arthritis.
