The hand is a unique area of the human body that is made up of bone, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, skin, and blood vessels. These elements must all be in good working order for the hand to function well. The relationship between all these structures is delicate and refined. An injury or disease can affect any or all of these structures and impair the use of the hand. These impairments may eventually affect a person’s ability to work, perform tasks of daily living, and/or perform recreational tasks.
But a Hand Therapist sees more than just “hands”. So what exactly is the difference between a hand therapist (CHT) and a physical therapist?
| Physical Therapy | Hand Therapy | |
| Degree: | Masters or Doctorate. The profession is pushing all physical therapy schools to only graduate therapists with a doctorate by the year 2020. | Already a PT or OT w/associated degrees. A CHT must have a minimum of 5 years of experience as an OT or PT, must have worked exclusively with hand therapy clientele for 4, 000 hours and have passed a national certification exam. (86% of hand therapists are OTs. There are only 5609 CHTs in the US, 5948 worldwide.) |
| Areas of Body treated: | Patients with foot/ankle, knee, hip, back, neck, shoulder, and some elbow injuries or diseases. | Patients with shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand injuries. Sometimes neck issues are addressed as it relates to the shoulder. |
| Focus: | Broad and generalized. Some therapists have a special interest in certain joints or areas. There is no universally accepted “specialization” in PT that is recognized by insurance companies. | Solely focused on the upper extremity. Insurance companies often regard Certified Hand Therapists as specialists and pay for patients to see a CHT over a general OT or PT. |
| Who sees your patient: | A PT, or a PTA (2 year degree), or a PT aide assist patients with exercises and modalities. | Only the CHT. All area CHT’s do not work with assistants or aides. (There are 6 CHTs in the Rockford area and 5 of them are OTs.) |
| Diagnoses Seen: | Just about everything but complicated hand injuries. | Carpal tunnel (pre and post op), cubital tunnel, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, hand/shoulder OA and RA, shoulder impingement, scar adhesions, tendonitis, wrist sprains, finger sprains and dislocations. From a hand surgeon, we will also see tendon repairs, wounds, Dupuytrens, fractures, rotator cuff repairs, hand/finger/arm replants, and amputations. |
| Special Skills: | Sports focus, modalities such as ultrasound, traction, interferential current, iontophoresis, ASTM, | Custom orthotics fabricated while patient is here, specialized arthritis splints and orthotics, Wound care, ergonomic work station review. Modalities such as ultrasound, interferential current, iontophoresis, ASTM, sterile whirlpool. |
If you could see a specialist, wouldn’t you? A CHT will not only treat the injured area, but also look at the factors causing the injury to prevent it from returning. Does the patient with tennis elbow have a good work station set up, how are they lifting things, do they have poor scapular strength? What can they change at work/home to prevent it from getting worse.