Hand therapy education hub
A patient-first hand therapy education library
Pick a topic below, then go deeper into exercises, anatomy, and therapist concepts — plain language first, sources where it matters, and stop rules on routines.
Conditions
Symptoms, triggers, and when to get seen — with linked sources.
Surgeries
Common procedures, recovery phases, and red flags.
Patients
Typical situations and workloads (office, parent, post-op, older adult, …) — pick the closest match; not a diagnosis.
Splint library
Searchable splint catalog with materials, fit, and care notes.
Anatomy
Bones, joints, tendons, nerves — plain-language primer.
Hand joints
Wrist, thumb, and finger hinges — diagrams and how they show up in exercises.
Movement library
Canonical motions with dose, stop rules, and progressions — pairs with guided exercises.
Recovery marketplace
Orientation-only listings for braces, putty, and daily aids — search links, not checkout.
VR & painful ROM
Movement-gated distraction — safety framing and web resources for education (not a treatment plan).
Household hand drills
Towels, jars, and bottles as conditioning — ranked cautions from your saved profile; education only.
Hand + other injuries
Honest scope note: hand-first tools today vs future multi-area coordination — still follow your clinician for combined plans.
Strong hands (not injured)
Sport, work, or longevity grip path with a risk screen and symptom-first gates — not a rehab prescription.
ASL alphabet dexterity games
Cue quiz, sequence echo, and word relay for the one-hand manual alphabet — fine motor + literacy, no camera.
How we use research (transparency, not validation claims)
What each exercise is for, and what to feel
Every category includes the goal, what it should feel like, and warning signs that mean stop. Tap a category to open the exercise library filtered by that goal, then start any guided session.
Tendon glides
Help tendons move smoothly through their sheaths after stiffness, surgery, or immobilization. Gentle, low-load, repeated motion.
Nerve glides
Encourage healthy nerve movement for symptoms like tingling, numbness, or radiating discomfort. Done slowly, never to pain.
Range of motion
Active and passive movements that restore how far each joint can move. Common after immobilization or stiffness.
Grip strengthening
Gradual strengthening using putty, soft balls, or progressive resistance. Always introduced after pain and stiffness allow.
Pinch strengthening
Targeted thumb and finger pinch work for tasks like buttons, keys, and writing.
Dexterity drills
Finger isolation, sequencing, and timing drills that rebuild fine motor control.
Scar desensitization
Texture and touch progression to reduce hypersensitivity around healed scars.
Edema control
Elevation, compression concepts, and gentle motion that help manage swelling between visits.
Mobility & soft tissue
Gentle joint movement and surrounding soft-tissue work to support comfort and confidence.
Understand what may be happening — without self-diagnosing
Each condition page explains symptoms, common triggers, conservative care concepts, and when to seek professional care.
Education is not diagnosis. Save topics that feel relevant and bring them to a clinician.
What recovery often looks like, in plain language
Education that supports — not replaces — your surgeon's and therapist's instructions.
The concepts behind safer home recovery
A short tour of the ideas hand therapists use to plan recovery — translated for patients.
Tune load and goals to your hand first
Pain, stiffness, and goals differ — map your limits locally before long sessions so pacing and exercise picks stay safer by default.
Tissue healing phases
Inflammatory, proliferative, and remodeling phases — and what kinds of movement are usually safe in each.
Load progression principles
How and why hand therapists gradually increase load, range, or repetitions only when symptoms remain stable.
Pain as a signal, not the enemy
How to distinguish between productive discomfort, irritation, and warning pain that means stop.
Edema & circulation basics
Why swelling matters, how it limits motion, and what gentle, safe management looks like at home.
Sensory re-education
How the brain remaps touch, pressure, and texture awareness after nerve injury or scarring.
Neurodynamics
Why nerves need to glide and how nerve mobility differs from stretching a muscle.
Patients & real-life demands
How we group common situations (typing-heavy, new parent, post-op, older adult grip) so pacing and safety rails match daily life — not a diagnosis.
Adherence & habit design
Why consistency beats intensity, and how micro-sessions outperform unrealistic plans.
Official-source summaries for CHT, BAHT/ECHT-linked materials, and other published credential guides — plus how we surface society keywords in the therapist directory. Educational only; not eligibility advice.
Notice patterns without blaming yourself
Hand symptoms are shaped by work, age, repetitive motion, chronic conditions, and habits. The app helps surface gentle patterns once enough data exists.
