What is a Hand Therapist?

Jun 5,2017 / By the American Society of Hand Therapists / No Comment

I have been told to see a hand therapist, but am unsure what that means. Who provides “hand therapy”?

A hand therapist is an occupational therapist (OT) or physical therapist (PT) who has specific training and expertise in treating hand and arm conditions. Typically, this person has spent many additional years gaining expertise with hand and arm injuries and treatment. When an OT or PT has reached this higher level of experience, they often become a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT).

So I can see anyone that is a PT, OT or CHT to take care of my problem?

You will want to ensure that the therapist you see, whether it is an OT or a PT, is qualified to treat your condition. If they are a CHT, it means they have had extra training and passed a rigorous exam to demonstrate their skill. If they are an OT or a PT, they may still treat hand and arm conditions, but you should ask questions to ensure they have spent extra time after their formal education learning about the hand and arm. To find a hand therapist near you, click here.

Hand Hand Surgery Opioids Pain

How Do Former Opioid Addicts Safely Get Pain Relief After Surgery?

Apr 28,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

from NPR

Nearly 1.5 million Americans were treated for addiction to prescription opioids or heroin in 2015, according to federal estimates, and when those people get seriously hurt or need surgery, it’s often not clear, even to many doctors, how to safely manage their pain. For some former addicts, what begins as pain relief ends in tragedy.

Max Baker is one such case. He started using prescription pain pills as a teenager in New England and quickly moved on to heroin. His father, Dr. James Baker, is a physician in the Worcester, Mass., area, and says he saw signs that his son was high on opioids — in Max’s pupils and skin tone. He begged Max to stop.

“He would have slurred speech, and be nodding off at the dinner table, and we’d go to a concert together and he would disappear and come back acting differently,” James Baker says.

It was a long, painful slog, but Max eventually sought help. When he was 22, he was prescribed an opioid called suboxone, a standard relapse prevention drug that helps wean people off opioids. After a year, he’d worked his way off that medication, too.

Read the full story.

4 Reasons You May Need Tendon Transfer Surgery

Apr 26,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

Tendon transfer surgery is a procedure during which a tendon is shifted from its original attachment to a new one (see figure above). There are many reasons that this procedure may be necessary. Your hand surgeon will determine if this is the right surgery for you. Here are four potential reasons for tendon transfer surgery:

Nerve Injuries: If a nerve is injured and cannot be repaired, it no longer sends signals to certain muscles, which paralyzes those muscles. This surgery can make those muscles work again. An example of this is a spinal cord injury.
Muscle Injuries: If a muscle has been cut or broken and cannot be repaired, this surgery can help. A tendon can rupture due to something like Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Disorder of the Nervous System: Sometimes, a disease may prevent nerve signals from being sent to muscles. Examples are cerebral palsy and a stroke. Tendon transfer surgery may help.
Birth Defects: Sometimes, babies are born without certain muscle functions, and this surgery may bring back function.

What is Joint Replacement Surgery?

Apr 24,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

Joint replacement surgery is a procedure in which bone and structures that line the joint are removed and replaced with new parts. This procedure is necessary when the articular cartilage (the substance on the surface of a bone) wears out or is damaged, which means the bones will no longer glide smoothly against one another. It may also stem from abnormal joint fluid.

The new parts may be made of metal, plastic, or materials that are carbon-coated. They allow the joints to move again without pain, increase range of motion, and can improve the look of the joints. Finger joints, knuckle joints, and wrist joints are commonly replaced.

After joint replacement surgery, you will most likely work with a hand therapist and could possibly wear a splint. However, with this procedure, there are always risks. There could be an infection, or the implant could fail, causing more joint pain. The implant could also wear out over time, resulting in the need for another surgery. In addition, vessels, nerves or other structures near the surgery site could be damaged. Talk to your doctor about the risks of joint replacement surgery before agreeing to the procedure.

Hand Hand Surgeon Hand Surgery Leprosy

The Art of Surgery: Life Drawing and Leprosy

Mar 19,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

from The Guardian

“Life drawing”, “still life” and “life class” are all fairly mundane terms I thought only applied to nude figures or fruit bowls in an art studio. However, in November, I stood and drew in the corner of a plastic surgeon’s theatre in Lalgadh hospital, near Janakpur in Nepal. The theatre was set up to operate on the paralysed hands of leprosy patients. “Life drawing” became very appropriate very quickly.

Like many infectious diseases that predominantly affect those in poverty, leprosy is alive and well; there were more than 200,000 new cases were reported in 2015. The sad fact is that the disease is difficult to contract and relatively straightforward to treat. Many patients present late, when paralysis sets in. Although medication can make patients non-infective, the paralysis requires surgery to correct.

Each year, Working Hands – a Bristol-based charity run by hand surgeon Donald Sammut – spends two weeks, pro bono, operating on the backlog of patients in Lalgadh, training staff and providing hundreds of kilos of medical equipment and consumables. The work is highly skilled, but in many cases the objective is simple: to generate enough movement and power in a hand for the patient to go back to work, or to eat, or to look after themselves in a society where stigma is attached to those with the disease. Most of these patients are illiterate farmers whose only means of support depends on how much they can dig, or carry.

Read the full story.

What is Arthroscopy?

Mar 10,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

Arthroscopy is a surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to look inside your joint by inserting a small tool (about the width of a pencil) into a small cut. You will be under general or regional anesthesia during this surgery. A fiberoptic camera will be inserted into the joint, and the video will be projected on a screen for the surgeon to view. The surgeon may make several small cuts around your elbow to see different areas.

Knee and shoulder arthroscopy are common procedures, but arthroscopy can also be used for both the elbow and wrist. The wrist is the third most common joint to undergo arthroscopy.

Wrist Arthroscopy

This procedure may be performed on the wrist if you are experiencing pain, a clicking noise or swelling. These symptoms usually arise from an injury and usually mean there is an internal problem with the wrist.

Hand Hand Surgery Therapy Dog

Making the rounds: Therapy dogs team up with hand surgeon to comfort patients

Feb 12,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

from the Chicago Tribune

When Ceil Johnson fell on the ice and broke her wrist last month, she went to hand surgeon Leon Benson for treatment.

Benson had taken care of her before, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous when the doctor, who practices in Wilmette and Glenview, removed the staples in her arm a few weeks later. But Johnson had a companion to help steady her as Benson carefully removed each staple: Benson’s Portuguese water dog, Cooper.

Cooper sat patiently on the exam table beside Johnson, letting her put her arms around him and bury her face in his glossy black side until the doctor’s work was completed.

Johnson, who has dogs herself, said she was glad Cooper had been there for her.

“I’m not a kid about stuff like this, but without Cooper there, it would have felt a lot worse,” she said.

Benson, who is affiliated with both the NorthShore Orthopaedic Institute and the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, is used to that kind of response to 7-year-old Cooper, and to Chelsea, Cooper’s 11-year-old Portuguese water dog colleague. That’s exactly the reason he brings one or both of them in to see patients.

Read the full story.

Hand Hand Surgeon Hand Surgery

Video: Preparing for Surgery

Jan 18,2017 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

Surgery can be a scary thing. Not only does it mean your body will be undergoing a procedure, but it also requires taking time off work, receiving help at home and coordinating transportation to and from surgery. Despite these obstacles, surgeon members of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand will ensure that your surgical experience is a good one. Your hand surgeon wants the best outcome for you.

To achieve the best outcome, your surgeon will be well prepared prior to your surgery. Reviewing the procedure with you is just one way your doctor will prepare. Watch our short, 1-minute video above to learn more about preparing for surgery.

Visit www.HandCare.org to read about different hand surgeries and how a hand surgeon can help you.

Category : Hand Surgery