Berks Hand Therapy: Understanding the Service

Hand therapy is rehabilitation for conditions affecting the hand, wrist, and sometimes the forearm or elbow. Depending on local professional roles, care may be delivered by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist with relevant hand-rehabilitation training.

An initial visit can include checking swelling, scars, sensation, joint movement, tendon glide, grip, pinch, and how symptoms affect dressing, cooking, typing, work, or hobbies. The therapist then tailors care to the diagnosis and any restrictions set by a surgeon.

Treatment may involve a custom or ready-made splint, swelling and scar management, graded movement, strengthening, sensory retraining, and changes to daily tasks. After a distal radius fracture, carpal tunnel release, or Dupuytren's surgery, the timing and intensity of exercises must match tissue healing.

Confirm that the service treats your diagnosis and ask what hand-specific training the therapist has. Bring referral letters, operation details, imaging reports, current splints, and a list of medicines if available. Wear clothing that allows the therapist to inspect the hand, wrist, and forearm.

Follow the movement and wound restrictions given after surgery or fracture care. Complete only the exercises prescribed for you, since aggressive stretching can irritate healing tissue. Tell the therapist which household, work, or leisure task matters most so progress can be tied to practical function.

Urgent medical review is needed for a finger or hand that becomes cold, blue, very pale, increasingly numb, or suddenly weak. After an injury, seek prompt care for obvious deformity, an open wound, uncontrolled bleeding, or inability to move a finger normally.

Following surgery, contact the treating team for spreading redness, worsening warmth, pus, fever, a wound opening, or pain that is escalating rather than settling. A tight splint that causes colour change, numbness, or increasing swelling should be removed if your instructions allow and assessed without delay.

Ask which tissues need protection, which movements are permitted now, how the splint should fit, and what signs mean it needs adjustment. Clarify who to contact if the wound changes and what functional milestones will guide return to driving, work, sport, or tool use.