Hand Therapy

Facilities and Services

The hand therapy team aims to assist patients achieve the best possible outcome following injury or disease of the hand and / or upper limb.  The Hand therapy unit provides specialist hand therapy services to both inpatient and outpatient population groups.  The hand therapy team at St Vincent’s hospital have undertaken therapy programs as a result of many complex and challenging hand therapy surgeries, one in particular is following Australia’s first Hand transplant, in 2011.

Working with the multi disciplinary team, including surgeons and the plastics unit, the Hand therapy team provides treatment to a large range of upper limb diseases / conditions / injuries via a multitude of techniques and modalities including; Custom fabricated splints, electro-therapy modalities, functional retraining, scar and wound management and joint mobilisation.

Post graduate

• Post graduate certificate, Hand and upper limb therapy; Auckland University of Technology, NZ
• Post graduate diploma Hand and upper limb rehabilitation; Curtin University, WA
• Full member of the Australian Hand Therapy Association

University Affiliations

• Latrobe University physiotherapy 

Current Projects and Publications

• Dwyer,  K, Webb, A, Furniss, H, Anjou, K, Gibbs-Dwyer, J, McCombe, D, Grinsell, D, Williams, R, Russel, P, Scott, D, Baker, C, Vogrin, S, Langham, S, Opdam, H, Morrison, W (2013). First hand transplant procedure in Australia: outcome at 2 years. The Medical Journal of Australia. (199, 285-287).
• Advanced practice hand therapy Clinic.  Funded by DHHS, 2015-16.