Coping with Chronic Health Conditions: Tips

3 Things To Know About Occupational Therpay For Hand Injuries

5 March 2015 by Freddie Cox

Your hands are one of the most important body parts you have, but after an injury occurs to one of them, you may have trouble with it for the rest of your life. The best way to regain full usage and strength of it is to attend occupational therapy. Through this, you will have a better chance of being able to use your hand exactly like you had before the injury. If you are told to go to a therapist for a hand injury, here are three things you should know.

Hands Are Complex

While most body parts are considered complex, the hand is one that is especially multifaceted. You can understand this by considering how many different ways the hands can turn and move and by thinking about all the different things hands can do. You use your hands for hundreds of things each day, and this includes a variety of many different tasks.

Hands contain muscles, bones, tendons, and nerves, and these parts all work together to allow you to use your hands for all the tasks you normally do. When something happens to any of these parts, the functions of the hand are impaired.

Seeking medical treatment for the injury is the first step you should take, but that is not the only type of treatment you will need. Medical treatment is necessary to repair broken bones, tears in tendons, problems with nerves, and other injuries that can occur, but occupational therapy takes the treatment a step further.

Occupational Therapy Restores Function

After your doctor treats the injury, he or she may recommend occupational therapy. This is a service that is very different from medical treatment, but it is just as important. If your hand was in a cast and the cast was just removed, you are likely to notice that your hand:

• Isn't very strong
• Doesn't move quite right
• Feels funny
• Will not work like it used to

This occurs because your hand can easily lose its strength, range of motion, and functions when it is not being used. Do you want to live with your hand like this? Probably not, and that is why doctors recommend occupational therapy.

You may have to go to therapy several times a week for the first few weeks, which can seem like a nuisance, but it's really not. You should consider this as an investment in your hand. This investment will most likely help you restore all the functions back to your hand, but you should realize that therapy is not easy. It can be extremely rigorous, monotonous, and overwhelming.

This Occurs Through Many Activities

During occupational therapy, the therapist may use some of the following techniques to help you regain strength and movement in your hand:

• Electrical stimulation – This is used to stimulate the nerves and blood flow to the hand.
• Heat and ice therapy – If there is inflammation in the area, heat and ice can reduce it, but this is also something that is used to control pain.
• Orthotics – The therapist might want you to wear a splint of some kind when you are not at therapy, and this is designed to hold the hand in a certain position.
• Activities – During hand therapy, you will have to perform a lot of activities that involve picking things up with your fingers. This builds dexterity and range of motion.
• At-home exercises – It is also important to complete the at-home exercises the therapist teaches you. By doing these daily, you may be able to regain usage of your hand faster.

If you recently had a hand injury and are thinking about skipping your therapy, you should think twice. Without occupational therapy, you may never be able to use that hand again. To learn more, contact an office that offers occupational therapy for hand injuries.

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