Hand Therapy Program

Hand therapy treats conditions and injuries that affect the hands and arms, including the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Our team of hand therapists – made up of occupational therapists and physical therapists – have specialized training in surgical and nonsurgical therapies that improve hand and upper limb abilities. Occupational therapists use different types of exercises and treatments to help children with self-care, play and school activities.

Pediatric hand therapists teach your child exercises and stretches to improve strength, mobility, range of motion and positioning in their hands and arms. The therapists also provide a wide variety of treatments and services, including splints, taping, manual therapy, joint mobilization, pain management and sensory reeducation.

We help children from infancy through young adulthood who are recovering from injuries or surgery or have congenital (present at birth) conditions. We work with your child to help relieve pain, weakness and other symptoms in their upper limbs so they can enjoy an active life.

Training and expertise in pediatric hand therapy

As occupational therapists, our hand therapists focus on improving strength, movement, functionality and dexterity. Through extensive training, we’ve developed skills in care that support recovery from an injury or surgery. We also have experience helping children who have congenital differences, including unusual configurations of the hand.

With experience and training in pediatric care, our pediatric hand therapy specialists are experts in children’s conditions and injuries that differ from those in adults. We have exceptional knowledge in child development, children’s anatomy, nerve structures and biomechanics to design age-appropriate therapies specifically for your child.

Specialized therapy for hands, arms and shoulders

Our hand therapists work closely with our hand, peripheral nerve and orthopedic surgeons, doctors and nurses to provide the highest quality of care for your child. Using a wide range of nonsurgical techniques and therapies, we design personalized care plans that help your child better use their upper limbs and increase independence at home, play and work. We educate you and your child about the condition or injury to help you understand how therapy improves the use of their hands and arms.

We provide comprehensive treatment for any injury or condition affecting the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder. Some of the most common issues we treat include:

• Congenital hand conditions, when parts of the hand and arm don’t form properly before birth

• Sports injuries, such as broken bones and sprains

• Peripheral nerve issues, such as brachial plexus birth injuries and thoracic outlet syndrome

• Congenital trauma and traumatic injuries

• Joint disorders

• Neuromuscular (nerve and muscle) and neurological disorders, such as acute flaccid myelitis and transverse myelitis

Quick access to convenient care

Our in-house hand therapists work within our surgeons’ and doctors’ clinics, so we can begin treating your child right away. We meet with you and your child after the doctor’s exam to learn more about your child’s needs for hand therapy.

Your child can then start with personalized exercises for stretching, range of motion or strengthening. They also learn activities to encourage function and improve engagement and motivation. We develop a program that your child can do at home and teach them how to do it before you leave. If your child needs more support such as a splint, we can make that before you leave as well.

For your convenience, our hand therapists offer specialized services at locations in Dallas and Plano. Because we’re in-house, we have access to your child’s electronic health records for provider notes and surgical reports. There’s no need for you to bring their medical records. And Children’s Health℠ provides free language and interpreter services for in-person, virtual (video) and phone interpretation.