- Home
- /
- Conditions
- /
- Hand
- /
- Physical Therapy for Hand Fractures
Physical Therapy for Hand Fractures
About hand fractures
With 27 bones in the hand, there are several different types of fractures in the hand. Symptoms typically include various combinations of swelling, bruising, tenderness, difficulty moving fingers and visible deformity. Some cases require surgery and others do not.
Physical Therapy for hand fractures?
Physical therapy will include joint mobilizations and soft tissue techniques to improve range of motion at the involved joints in the hand. Gradual strengthening will occur at each affected joint with progressions into exercises to improve strength with gripping and twisting.
How to track progress?
To track progress, we will look at the range of motion of the joints between the small bones in your thumb and fingers and the bones in the palm in your hand. In addition to this, we will assess grip strength, as this is a strong predictor of functional status. If the fracture involves the thumb, we will assess grip/pinching strength of the thumb.
In addition to measures of ROM and strength, we will monitor reported physical limitations because of your hand fracture. Common examples of this include difficulty buttoning, manipulating fine objects, gripping, twisting and more.
Related Articles
Physical Therapy for a Mallet finger
Mallet finger occurs when patients are unable to extend the joint at the end of the finger, either due to a tendon rupture or an avulsion fracture.
Physical Therapy for a Trigger Finger
Trigger finger happens when tendons, or their protective sheath, around your fingers or thumb swell up or thicken. The swelling makes it hard for your affected digits to move smoothly. Severe cases can “freeze” your fingers in a flexed position.
Physical Therapy for a Skier’s Thumb
Skier’s thumb occurs when the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), located on the inside of your thumb at the first metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint, is stretched too much resulting in a sprain or tear.