Hand rehabilitation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As Handrehabilitation or hand therapy is a holistic treatment of the hand or upper extremity to recover from injuries, illnesses and malformation and rehabilitation referred to the social and professional environment. It is carried out by specialized occupational and physiotherapists and is aimed at patients with hand diseases or injuries from the orthopedic , traumatic-surgical , rheumatological and neurological field. The hand therapeutic treatment can be conservative , pre- or post-operative and aims to restore the physiological functions of the hand or to preserve them as best as possible. These include gripping function, fine motor skills , mobility , coordination and dexterity , strength and freedom from pain.

Hand therapists

Occupational therapists or physiotherapists who have received further training as hand therapists have extensive theoretical knowledge of the anatomy , physiology and pathophysiology of the hand. You have acquired the well-founded practical skills to adequately and competently treat illnesses and injuries in the hand area, including the entire musculoskeletal system . In addition, they are able to grasp psycho-social problems of the respective patient and to incorporate them into the therapeutic approach.

Hand therapists can explain the disease process to the patient and develop joint strategies with them that involve the patient in active therapy and rehabilitation. Such procedures, in the sense of self-therapy “outside of therapeutic practice”, help to optimize the success of the therapy.

The well-trained hand therapists are characterized by above-average professional competence that is directly linked to evidence-based knowledge . This makes them a direct link between the hand surgeon and all professional groups involved in hand therapy and hand rehabilitation. They can also question their approach to the patient in the sense of supervision and develop new treatment strategies from this. Thus, they essentially contribute to quality assurance and increasing the quality standard for all hand therapeutic activities.

Hand therapy treatment

In order to be able to treat the cause appropriately, not only the hand of the patient is included in the therapeutic diagnosis, but the person as a whole. Thus, the diagnosis of the vegetative part , the spine , the nervous system as well as the entire chain of movements of the arm belong in the focus of the hand therapist.

In the treatment, the therapist uses, for example, manual therapeutic techniques , edema-reducing techniques, scar treatment , and treatment techniques on muscles , tendons and fasciae . Stabilization training, instructions for self-exercises, patient training , mirror therapy , training in “ activities of daily living ” (ADL) as well as local, segmental and central pain therapy. In addition, the production of individual hand splints is included in the hand therapy.

The hand therapy is not a separate billing point for the health insurance companies, which is why the doctor has to prescribe occupational therapy or physiotherapy.

Possible clinical pictures

The clinical pictures of hand rehabilitation / hand therapy usually come from the medical fields of orthopedics, surgery, rheumatology, traumatology and neurology.

The clinical pictures include:

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b B. Waldner-Nilsson: hand rehabilitation . 3. Edition. Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2013
  2. ^ Hand Therapy Certification Commission - Definition of Hand Therapy
  3. ↑ definition
  4. ↑ International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT): Hand Therapy Practice Profile. 2010
  5. ↑ A. Diday-Nolle, M. Pahud-Noverraz, DU Slatosch, B. Waldner Nilsson (1991): Occupational Therapy in hand surgery, Part I . Working hand. Gnägi's printing corner, Bern