Whether you’re typing on a computer or opening a pickle jar, we use our fingers for countless tasks each and every day, and oftentimes it takes an injury to really appreciate how often we use our fingers day in and day out. We also abuse our fingers on a regular basis, subjecting them to trauma during athletic activities or in the workplace. With our fingers, it’s not a matter of if we will injure them, it’s a matter of when. And when injury strikes, you need to know that treatment will help return your finger function to normal.
That’s where physical therapy comes in. Physical therapy can help your fingers in a number of different ways. We highlight five of those ways in today’s blog.
Physical Therapy For Finger Injuries
Here’s a look at five ways that physical therapy can help you regain normal function after a significant injury.
- Range of Motion Exercise – A common symptom of a significant finger injury is an inability to straighten or bend the finger at a normal range. Sometimes this comes back with time alone, but other times the small muscles and tendons in your finger require additional flexibility training. A physical therapist can help you improve your flexibility and range of motion after an injury limits its normal function.
- Grip Strength – A finger injury can also weaken your grip strength, which can cause functional problems or pain when attempting to firmly grip an object. We can help develop a strength training regimen to help re-strengthen key finger tissues to bolster your functional grip strength.
- Sensitivity Issues – In the event that your finger injury resulted in significant damage or the partial loss of your digit, you may end up dealing with sensitivity issues even after you’ve reached maximum medical improvement. Our team of therapists can provide sensitivity training exercises so that things like pressure, heat or cold temperatures don’t cause pain in your finger. Sometimes training your injured finger to ignore pain sensations and signals is the best way to move forward after an injury, and we can help you achieve that.
- Fine Motor Skills – Being able to pick up a pencil or tying your shoes may seem like second nature right now, but these fine motor skills may prove difficult after a finger injury. Many patients say that the inability to perform these fine tasks can be the most frustrating aspect of a finger injury, but it doesn’t have to be if you sync up with a physical therapist. Our therapy team has a wealth of knowledge of physical therapy exercises to help improve fine motor skills.
- Protection – Finally, your finger is in a fragile state while it is recovering after an injury, so you need to make sure you are exercising it safely to avoid more damage to the area. Your physical therapist can give you an exercise and strength training routine tailored to your specific injury so that you’re not at risk of making your pain worse. Connect with a physical therapist to safely help your injured finger heal.
If you are dealing with finger pain or recovering after a significant trauma, reach out to the experienced physical therapy team at OrthoRehab Specialists today.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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