How Hand Therapy Accelerates Upper Extremity Rehabilitation
From completing intricate tasks to performing simple daily routines, your hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders play an invaluable role. Injuries to these areas can disrupt your life in unimaginable ways, which is why at Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab in Fort Myers, FL, our focus is on upper extremity injuries and their treatment through targeted hand therapy.
A fundamental pillar of our treatment approach is desensitization and sensory re-education for the upper extremities. This specialized hand therapy plays a pivotal role in rehabilitation, and we want to help you understand why.
Imagine your upper extremity as an intricate network of information highways. When an injury occurs, these highways may get disrupted. Sensory re-education and desensitization therapy is the repair crew working to mend these disruptions, guiding your nerves to resume their normal function and helping you regain your sense of touch and feel.
What to Expect at Your Visits
Desensitization and sensory re-education techniques are critical to rehabilitation for upper extremity pain, injuries, and post-surgical conditions. The aim is to normalize the sense of touch and reduce hypersensitivity while retraining the brain to interpret sensory information correctly.
Here are a few common techniques:
- Graded Desensitization Therapy: This involves exposure to various textures, starting with soft materials and gradually moving to rougher ones. It helps in reducing hypersensitivity following an injury or surgery.
- Sensory Re-education Exercises: These exercises aim to train the brain to recognize different sensations. They may involve identifying objects by touch alone (stereognosis) or recognizing different temperatures, pressures, and textures.
- Mirror Therapy: By using a mirror to create a visual illusion, the patient’s brain can be tricked into believing that the affected hand or upper limb is moving without pain. This can help to improve mobility and decrease pain perception.
- Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES): FES involves applying small electrical pulses to stimulate nerve endings and improve sensation. This technique is often used in conjunction with sensory re-education exercises.
Remember, the success of these techniques relies heavily on their regular and consistent application. At Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab, the core of our approach is to understand what works best for you. Our therapists in Fort Myers, FL, equipped with their knowledge, training, and experience, develop a personalized treatment plan to promote healing and restore function.
Call today to learn more about our programs to help you get back to doing what you love!
Your Next Steps…
Request An Appointment
Receive A Custom Treatment Plan
Work Hard and Progress In Your Recovery
Recover & Enjoy Life Pain-Free!