The Importance of Hand Therapy After an Injury

Hand injuries are the most common injuries, whether in the form of accidents, sports, or workplace accidents. It is easy to take the hand for granted in our daily lives until one or both hands become incapacitated. From holding a cup of coffee to performing tasks in the office by typing to playing musical instruments, hands are largely involved in most aspects of daily functioning. When an injury takes place, the process extends to the restoration of overall general body trauma and continues with the restoration of strength, mobility, as well as coordination. This is where hand therapy comes in!

What is Hand Therapy?

Hand therapy is one of the rehabilitative choices that one may opt for when recovering from an injury or surgery. There is no limitation to how far a person may expand hand therapy, and it actually begins right in the shoulder and travels all the way down to the tip of the finger. Hand therapists, usually advanced occupational or physical therapists, diagnose each patient to devise a treatment plan for gaining their greatest return of function.

A hand injury can be anything from a fracture, torn ligament, or dislocated joint to cuts, burns, or nerve damage. Regardless of the injury’s nature, a standardized program of hand therapy must be initiated for healing and full use of the hand.

Why Is Hand Therapy Important After an Injury?

1. Accelerating Recovery

The best benefit of hand therapy is the acceleration of recovery. After an injury, immobilization of the hand is often performed to protect it. However, the major disadvantages of immobilization are joint stiffness and muscle atrophy. Without use, joints and muscles lose their functions very quickly. Hand therapy cancels out the negative effects with the gradual use of movement to reduce stiffness and strengthen the muscles surrounding it. Early intervention also helps to prevent long-term complications such as chronic pain or decreased range of motion.

Specific exercises and techniques tailored according to the type of injury make recovery not only speedier but more effective. Therapists know exactly when and how to apply pressure to the hand to let it heal optimally, causing no further injury or setbacks.

2. Recovery and Independence

One thing a hand injury could take from us is the ability to button a shirt or hold the wheel of a car or grasp the hand of the child. Things we may take for granted in our daily lives can be taken away by an injury to the hand. Unless proper therapy is done, the hand may never work the same even after the hand has “healed” in medical terms. This can really hurt the quality of life of a person.

Hand therapy deals primarily with loss in terms of function. It is not a cure but an approach to help the patient resume normal strengths and fine motor abilities to perform daily activities. For many people, a return to independence can be one of the most emotionally rewarding aspects of hand therapy. This may give them an enormous morale boost regain confidence once again and get into their everyday lives.

3. Preventing Long-Term Complications

Left unattended or improperly treated, an injury to the hands can eventually lead to several complications. Stiffness and chronic pain are known to be potential results from inappropriate rehabilitation of an injury to the hands, but some may also suffer damage to the nerves and even deformities. Nerve injuries may cause numbness or anaesthesia of areas of the hand and limit strength and coordination.

Hand therapy directly addresses these risks; commonly, it employs splinting, manual therapy, or modalities such as ultrasound to promote tissue healing and discourage the formation of scar tissue that can limit function. The techniques also help to increase circulation and reduce oedema, which are really critical elements in preventing conditions such as CRPS-that is, complex regional pain syndrome, a type of chronic pain that could arise from a previous injury.

4. Pain Management

Most hand injuries result in pain, and the management of that pain is an essential part of healing. Hand therapists have lots of strategies for managing pain, from hot and cold therapy to massage and specific therapeutic exercises. Most patients report that their pain improves as they begin to move better as well as with strength throughout a program of therapy.

Pain control is also very crucial in managing mental conditions. Chronic pain can cause frustration, anxiety, and even depression. With hand therapy, the condition of a patient’s mental and emotional state can improve.

5. Custom Care

Everyone’s hand injury is a little different, and everyone’s recovery is a bit different, too. A good hand therapist will work with you to understand the injury, your lifestyle needs, and your goals for developing treatment. That way, you’re getting treatment that really works for you, not an off-the-rack prescription.

The therapy itself remains engaging and relevant, which can really make all the difference in motivation and compliance. Rehab isn’t easy by any means, but when the exercises are targeted to your specific needs, it makes everything feel more purposeful and rewarding.

A Road to Recovery

Everyone feels that the journey to recovery from a hand injury is tedious and tiring. There will be ups and downs, periods of frustration, and instances wherein it will feel like you are not gaining ground. Thankfully, with the help of a skilled hand therapist, this road becomes less torturous. Hand therapy is more than a string of exercises. It’s total care to help restore a patient’s physical strength, as well as his or her confidence and independence for his hands. Any hand therapy exercise can help you find a way to get your life back to a place where your hands can do what they were meant to do.