Certified Hand Therapists vs. Physical Therapists
A hand injury can significantly limit your ability to perform activities you enjoy and can even impact your daily life. If you're seeking hand rehabilitation for an injury, you've likely wondered what kind of therapist you should contact. While physical and certified hand therapists can help you, some essential differences exist. If you've been weighing the benefits of working with certified hand therapists vs. physical therapists, here's what you need to know.
To determine what type of therapist you should find, you'll need to understand the critical differences between a certified hand therapist (CHT) and a physical therapist (PT).
Education
While both physical and certified hand therapists complete rigorous educational requirements, CHTs complete more extensive and specialized study of the hands and upper extremities. A certified hand therapist is a physical therapist or occupational therapist who has worked as a hand therapist for at least three years and passed a certification exam.
To maintain their certification, CHTs must be recertified every five years. The ongoing certification requirements ensure that every certified hand therapist is current on medical updates and prepared to provide their patients with quality care. While physical therapists are highly-trained and knowledgeable care professionals, CHTs have a specialized area of practice that requires additional education focusing on the hands and upper extremities.
Care Focus
Physical Therapists
Patients visit a physical therapist for various reasons, as PTs focus on regaining range of movement and pain alleviation. For example, a PT may help one patient regain back strength after a disc injury and another increase knee stability after an ACL repair.
This generalization means they can help patients with mobility issues and pain, but they may not have the expertise necessary to help patients regain optimal function or fine motor skills. For serious hand and upper extremity conditions impacting your ability to perform everyday tasks, you'll want to receive specialized care to maximize your recovery.
Certified Hand Therapists
The primary focus of a CHT is helping a patient regain function and eliminating or reducing pain in the hands and upper extremities. Seeking care from a certified hand therapist is strongly recommended for patients suffering from conditions or injuries to their hands because rehabilitating hands is complex.
Unlike some joints, which only need to maintain stability and mobility, your hands need to be able to perform numerous functions. To interact with the world around you optimally, you'll want to be able to pinch, grab, press, hold, and perform countless other motions that require flexibility, strength, and the ability to regulate the amount of pressure you're applying.
Treatment Approach
Certified hand therapists will meet with patients to discuss their injuries, condition, symptoms, pain, and medical history. Then they will use this information to craft a custom treatment plan. Patients will typically be given exercises or activities to perform at home in addition to the activities completed during the treatment session.
Physical therapists will follow a similar treatment approach. However, the exercises and activities prescribed to the patient may be less specialized or advanced.
An injury to your hands can affect your ability to work and your quality of life. Working with a certified hand therapist offers you the best chance of successfully rehabilitating your injury. Contact us today to discuss treatment options with our care providers.