Hand therapy
The Hand Therapy Department is staffed by five physiotherapists, including two clinical specialists with extensive experience of managing patients with hand and wrist conditions.
We offer a service where we assess and manage patients with a variety of treatment techniques including:
- splinting; we can provide prefabricated splints or make customised splints specific to each patient's requirements
- exercise programmes
- mobilisations
- scar management
- sensory re-education
- desensitisation programmes
- management of swelling in the hand
- pain management.
We can also organise some hydrotherapy sessions for specific patients who we feel may benefit from this treatment.
We manage a variety of hand and wrist conditions in both adults and children including the following.
Hand trauma
- Fractures
- Nerve injuries
- Tendon repairs
- Soft tissue injuries
- Pain syndromes
- Multi-trauma patients
- Finger tip injuries
Postoperative surgical conditions
- Dupuytren's fasciectomy
- Carpal tunnel decompression
- Tendon transfers
- Trapeziumectomy
- Wrist fusions
- Scaphoid reconstruction
Other conditions
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Trigger Finger
- De Quervain's Syndrome
- Dupuytren's Disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Paediatric Congenital Hand Conditions both before and after surgery
These are some the most common conditions, although there are a wide variety of and conditions which we manage on a regular basis.
We accept referrals from consultants at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and the Trauma Hand Service at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
Clinical Specialists
The Clinical Specialists manage a number of clinics where they see patients on behalf of the consultants and perform activities such as:
- assessment and diagnosis of patient's condition
- request X-rays and other investigations
- perform wound care
- remove sutures
- injections for specific hand conditions
- list patients for surgery.
The hand therapy team has close links with the hand surgery team and regularly attend meetings with the hand surgeons to discuss the management of patients and ways to improve and develope the service. We attend the John Radcliffe Hospital twice a week to provide input into the trauma hand clinics.
There is an active teaching programme within the department where the physiotherapists attend teaching with the hand surgery team on a weekly basis and also have sessions within the Hand Therapy Department to update their skills.
The team also provide teaching sessions for trainee doctors, surgeons and medical students. We provide placements for undergraduate physiotherapy students from Oxford Brookes University and Coventry University.
The physiotherapists are members of the British Association of Hand Therapy and contribute regularly to the activities of this specialist interest group. The department has held BAHT validated hand therapy courses for both occupational therapists and physiotherapists from across the UK.
Contact us
Oxford Hand Therapy Unit
Team Lead: Lizelle Sander-Danby
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
Windmill Road
Headington
Oxford OX3 7LD
Tel: 01865 738074
How to find the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
John Radcliffe Hospital
LG1 West Wing
Headley Way
Headington
Oxford OX3 9DU
Tel: 01865 231181
How to find the John Radcliffe Hospital
Last reviewed:15 February 2024