What should you know about summit hand therapy?

A hand therapist assesses how the wrist, fingers, thumb and forearm move, and how symptoms affect tasks such as gripping, typing, dressing or cooking. Treatment may include exercises for motion and strength, soft-tissue work, splinting, scar care, swelling control and advice on changing a task while tissues recover. The plan depends on the problem and may support recovery after an injury, operation or flare of a joint condition.

Hand therapy can be useful for De Quervain's Tenosynovitis, Distal Radius Fracture, Dupuytren's Contracture, Hand Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. It is also used when stiffness or weakness remains after immobilisation.

Bring details of when symptoms began, what movements trigger them and which activities have become difficult. A therapist may measure motion, grip or pinch and observe a functional task. Follow the home programme at the prescribed frequency, use a splint exactly as instructed and report increasing swelling, numbness or skin irritation. Short, regular practice is often easier to fit around daily routines than one long session.

Seek urgent medical assessment after a significant injury if the hand looks deformed, a finger is unusually pale or blue, sensation is suddenly lost, or you cannot move it normally. Arrange clinical review for persistent pain, progressive weakness, locking, a growing lump or symptoms that interfere with sleep or work. A therapist can coordinate with the treating clinician when a different diagnosis or a procedure such as Carpal Tunnel Release or Dupuytren's Surgery needs consideration.

What is limiting my movement or grip? Which exercises are suitable now? Should I use a splint during work or sleep? What symptoms mean I should stop an exercise? How will progress be checked?