Hand Therapy in Miami

Written by Andy Zapata

An injury to the hand can cause a lot of pain and prevent you from doing even the simplest of daily routine activities. It can affect your ability to drive, play sports, use your computer for work, and even your ability to enjoy a nice meal. It’s such a nuisance that you may have to take time off from work or miss family functions.

But there is a solution: If you have pain in one or both of your hands – whether it was caused in a car accident, a fall, a sports accident, or in any other way – it is a good idea to consider getting physical therapy to help manage and quite likely – eliminate that pain.

What is Hand Therapy?
Hand Therapy is a type of physical therapy that focuses exclusively on injuries that occur within the shoulder, arm, and hand region of the body. The goal is to help the patient complete everyday tasks and perform activities with ease by improving flexibility and reducing pain. This is done through a series of exercises with a physical therapist. Here at Physical Therapy Now, we have helped hundreds of patients just like you!

Types of Hand Injuries

There are several types of hand injuries, so you are not alone. Here is a list that MedlinePlus says are some of the most common:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – This is when a nerve that runs through your wrist becomes compressed. In today’s society, this is very common and can be caused by excessive use of your hands or wrists (like when texting or holding a cell phone). Those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome could experience numbness in the fingers or sharp pain in their wrists.
• Osteoarthritis – This is the most common form of Arthritis. It causes pain or swelling in your hands and wrists. When the cartilage in your joints begins to break down, the bones will begin to rub together, causing ongoing damage as time progresses.
• Tendinitis – Most commonly associated with sports injuries, this type of injury occurs when a tendon in your wrist begins to swell. The tendons are strips of tissue that connect your muscles to your bones and help each other to move.

What Exercises Will I Be Doing?

This is a list of some of the types of exercises you may be doing in hand therapy. These exercises are built to both heal and make you stronger and should be done with the supervision of a skilled physical therapist.

• Stretching: This is a great warm up exercise. Stretching both hands is good because it causes helps prepare you for other exercises and can help prevent pain after the physical activity.
• Making a fist: This is a common hand exercise that allows the hands to get better blood circulation. An alternative method often recommended is to grip a stress ball by clenching and unclenching your fist.
• Bending/ Rotating Thumbs: If you’re a chronic texter, bending and rotating your thumbs is a good way to alleviate pain. This includes different thumb movements such as a thumbs up or down or bending the thumb from front to back.
• Wrist Rotation: For wrist pain, bending or rotating can also relieve the pain. Simply hold out one hand and use the other to push down and move it in different directions.

How Can Physical Therapy Help My Hand Injury?

Physical Therapy can help to alleviate the pain from your hand injury through natural strength building and healing exercises. At Physical Therapy Now, our staff will first evaluate your injury and can create a custom plan just for you.

Call us today to get started by scheduling your first appointment at (800) 481-4582.  Let’s do away with that hand pain TOGETHER!