Hand Therapy

Hand Specialists Help You Regain Function, Strength, and Dexterity

You depend on your hands and arms to do many daily activities. So, if an injury or hand surgery makes it hard to use your hand, it can be challenging. Hand therapy may help.

Physical & Occupational Therapy for Your Hand

Hand specialists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) include experts from physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT). They evaluate how well your hand is working. Then, they create a hand rehabilitation program just for you.

Often, they work closely with other physicians in specialities such as:

• Orthopedic hand, wrist and elbow 
• Plastic and reconstructive surgery
• Arthritis care and rheumatology
• Neurology and neurosurgery

Your hand therapy program addresses problems such as swelling, limited range of motion and lack of strength. If you’re unable to use your hand or arm, our hand therapists may teach you how to compensate. But their goal is to restore your hand function. They help you get back to normal activities.

Conditions We Treat

Hand therapy can help with many conditions, including:

Treatments We Offer

Physical therapists and occupational therapists work together to provide your treatment. This means you benefit from their combined expertise. They focus on helping your hand work better and helping you do more with it.

Treatments our therapy team may use include:

• Customized splints.
• Education in ergonomics and joint preservation techniques. This might include advice on improving your computer setup, adjusting how you hold items and using assistive devices to reduce joint stress.
• Exercises to improve strength and range of motion.
• Instruction in a home exercise program.
• Retraining your hands to move, bend or pick up items.
• Skin care and wound management.
• Stretching of joints and soft tissues.
• Ultrasound, heat, ice, paraffin wax and fluidotherapy (a dry whirlpool that uses heat to desensitize incisions) to increase tissue flexibility or reduce pain and swelling.

Our certified hand therapists help you plan for outpatient care once you’re discharged, if needed.