I opened Complete Hand Therapy in order to provide premium hand therapy to clients in a more intimate setting. I felt that all clients would benefit from receiving continuous consistent care from the same experienced Hand Therapist. This is a service I have always wanted to provide clients to optimise their outcomes and I am proud to say that at Complete Hand Therapy I now can. I have clients that I have treated over many years, sometimes for chronic hand conditions and sometimes for different injuries along the way. I have also treated multiple members of the same family, school or sporting ..read more

DASH-17 Assessment for VCE By the time students are in high school it is often assumed that handwriting is an established ability that doesn’t need any attention, but this is often not the case. Handwriting is complex with perceptual, cognitive, and motor components and even high school aged students may still struggle with this skill.  High school students that are having difficulty with handwriting are often concerned that it may impact their performance in school assessments and examinations. Some students have difficulty with handwriting speed, some with legibility, and sometimes stud ..read more

Elbow pain that is actually caused by straightening your wrist In recent weeks I have had several clients present with pain in their elbow, and they are sometimes surprised to learn that this pain is caused by overuse of their wrist straightening muscles. Tennis Elbow, also known as Lateral Epicondylitis, is a condition where you feel pain on the outside of your elbow on the bony prominence where the forearm muscles that straighten your wrist and hand attach.  Causes Whist the pain is experienced on the outside of the elbow, the cause of the pain is from repetitively straightening your wr ..read more

Osteoarthritis Many people develop osteoarthritis, otherwise known as “wear and tear arthritis,” in their fingers joints as they age. Often clients I meet feel that nothing can be done for the pain and stiffness caused by finger arthritis, which I am always surprised to learn. Whilst there is nothing that I can do as a Hand Therapist to change the appearance of the finger joints on an X-ray, there is a lot that can be done to change the way a joint feels. This can have a great impact on the client’s hand function and happiness. Pain Management Options I find that almost all of my clients find ..read more

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a common cause of numbness and tingling in the hand. The Carpal Tunnel is a space in the wrist, around the palm. All of the muscles that bend the fingers and thumb pass through the Carpal Tunnel. Also in this space is the median nerve, which is one of the three main nerves of the upper limb and it supplies sensation to the lateral parts of the hand and power to some of the muscles in the hand. When this nerve becomes compressed within the Carpal Tunnel, the numbness and tingling that follows are symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndr ..read more

Symptoms of OA of the CMC Thumb pain is a symptom that brings many clients into my clinic. A very common cause of thumb pain, especially in women aged 40 years and over, is Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Carpometacarpal joint (CMC joint). The CMC joint is the joint at the base of your thumb, located just above the wrist crease. Pressure directly in this area can be very painful! Causes OA is caused by the wearing away of articular cartilage, which is the protective layer on the bone ends, over time. Symptoms of thumb CMC OA includes pain, swelling and loss of thumb strength and motion. Recommenda ..read more

Sometimes the x-ray doesn’t tell the whole story Often, when clients get their x-ray results that show there is no fracture following a finger dislocation or hyperextension injury, their relief can be short lived.  Finger dislocations/hyperextension injuries in the middle joint of your finger (PIPjoint) occur commonly in ball sports such as football, basketball and netball. Sometimes when the finger bends backwards it doesn’t dislocate and sometimes it does. Often the finger joint is immediately painful, sore and swollen and the first step is to take an X-ray. Upon hearing the good news t ..read more

A very important skill Handwriting is as unique to each of us as our finger print, but sadly it’s becoming a lost art. It is a skill that today’s generation can find very difficult! Handwriting, like all other skills, needs to be taught and then practiced. First, you need to learn the correct technique of holding a pen and then you need to practice…a lot! Unfortunately, due to technology, and even more so during COVID, handwriting is becoming a skill that children don’t develop properly. Kids, especially boys, can struggle with handwriting. In primary school handwriting difficulties are ofte ..read more

Creating a hand therapy clinic where every client is valued, treatment is provided only by an experienced Hand Therapist and bookings are flexible, has been a dream of mine for a long time. This vision was realised when I opened Complete Hand Therapy at 64 Glenferrie Road Malvern in October 2021. Opened in Melbourne 2021 I opened the doors of Complete Hand Therapy during Melbourne’s second long lockdown. The streets were bare and the vibe of Glenferrie Road had vanished. After a few short months, I am happy to see Glenferrie Road come alive again with trams, shoppers and people enjoying the c ..read more

A tool for injury recovery As a Hand Therapist I have made thousands of custom splints in my career and they are very familiar to me, but what I have learnt over the years is that many clients have never seen or even heard of a thermoplastic splint. So they often don’t realise it is an option available to aid recovery after an injury. Splints are often the most comfortable and effective way to manage an injury or condition, but what is a splint? Splints are custom made braces designed to support or immobilise your hand or wrist to facilitate your recovery. Materials Splints can be made out o ..read more