Hand Occupational Therapy
Your hand is essential to almost all of your daily activities. When an injury, surgery, or medical condition limits its function, hand occupational therapy can help you regain mobility, strength, function, and independence. At Action Sport Physio, our occupational therapists with expertise in hand therapy design a personalized rehabilitation plan to help you return to the activities that matter most to you.
Written by Cassandra Castro-Barquero, occupational therapist at the Action Sport Physio LaSalle and Verdun clinics.
Complementarity Between Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
The physiotherapist primarily focuses on biomechanical aspects, including joint mobility, strength, movement, and pain reduction.
The occupational therapist also works to improve strength, mobility, and pain management, but uses a complementary approach that places greater emphasis on function, independence, and participation in daily activities.
Occupational therapy may include active interventions, such as exercises and task simulations, passive interventions, such as manual therapy or taping, as well as compensatory strategies, including activity modifications, assistive devices, and orthoses. The overall goal is to optimize function and help you participate more fully in your everyday activities.
At Action Sport Physio, this combined approach is a major advantage: you benefit from comprehensive care in which each professional contributes complementary expertise. This synergy supports a more complete functional recovery and helps you regain your abilities in your daily, professional, sports, and leisure activities.
Main Treatment Modalities in Hand Occupational Therapy
- Custom Hand Orthoses, static or dynamic
- Progressive exercise programs, including range of motion, strength, and dexterity
- Pain and inflammation management strategies
- Wound care and edema control
- Tactile desensitization
- Activity modification and ergonomic advice
- Functional activities adapted to daily life
- Gradual return to work, sports, hobbies, and household tasks
The Role of the Occupational Therapist in Hand Treatment
The hand occupational therapist begins with a thorough assessment of how your condition affects your daily occupations, whether at work, in your leisure activities, or in household tasks. Based on this assessment, they design a personalized intervention plan aimed at restoring hand function while respecting your personal goals and daily reality.
When necessary, occupational therapists collaborate with your treating physician and the specialists involved, including hand surgeons, to support coordinated care throughout your recovery.
What Is Hand Therapy?
Hand therapy is an area of practice within occupational therapy that focuses on the assessment and rehabilitation of hand, wrist, and finger function. When an injury, surgery, or medical condition affects these essential structures, functional recovery becomes a priority in order to regain independence in daily life.
Occupational therapists working in hand therapy have advanced knowledge of upper limb function, activity analysis, rehabilitation, and adaptation strategies. Their role is to help you improve mobility, strength, dexterity, comfort, and functional use of the hand, while also considering how your condition affects your daily, work, household, leisure, or sports activities.
What Equipment and Techniques Are Used in the Clinic?
Therapeutic Exercises and Desensitization
A progressive exercise program forms the core of active rehabilitation. Your occupational therapist guides you through targeted movements designed to restore joint range of motion, muscle strength, coordination, dexterity, and functional use of the hand. These exercises evolve as your recovery progresses, moving from gentle mobility exercises to more complex functional activities.
When appropriate, your occupational therapist may also use tactile desensitization strategies to help reduce sensitivity and improve comfort during daily activities.
Custom Splint Fabrication
A custom splint can play an important role in hand and upper-extremity rehabilitation. Our occupational therapists fabricate thermoplastic splints that are molded directly to your hand to provide a precise, lightweight, and comfortable fit.
Depending on your condition and the stage of your rehabilitation, a splint may be used to:
- protect a healing structure, such as after a fracture, surgery, or tendon injury;
- support or position a joint to reduce stress and promote recovery;
- limit or control certain movements without necessarily fully immobilizing the hand;
- facilitate or guide movement when needed;
- reduce pain and irritation by decreasing stress on affected structures;
- progressively improve range of motion;
- promote tendon gliding and help prevent stiffness or certain deformities;
- optimize function and independence during daily activities.
The purpose of a splint is therefore not limited to immobilization. It is designed according to your needs to protect affected structures while promoting movement and function whenever appropriate. Splints may be static, static-progressive, or dynamic depending on the therapeutic goal.
In addition, your occupational therapist may incorporate wound care and edema management as needed to support optimal recovery.
At Action Sport Physio, our hand occupational therapists use a range of approaches and tools to meet each patient’s specific needs.
Whether you are recovering from a fracture, surgery, tendinitis, or another hand condition, your treatment plan is customized to support your functional recovery and your return to the activities that matter to you.
Written by Cassandra Castro-Barquero, occupational therapist at the Action Sport Physio LaSalle and Verdun clinics.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hand Occupational Therapy
Do Occupational Therapists Treat Hands?
When Should You Consult for Hand Occupational Therapy After Pain, Stiffness, Injury, or Surgery?