Coffs Coast and New England Hand Therapy

🏃‍♂️🤕 Did you know that seeing an Accredited Hand Therapist (AHT) can make all the difference when it comes to a sports injury of the thumb? AHTs have the expertise and experience to ensure optimal recovery. 🖐️✨

Don't settle for less when it comes to your sport. Choose an AHT and get back to doing what you love, faster and stronger! 💪

For patient information visit our website: https://www.ahta.com.au/patient-info

An AHT is is a registered occupational therapist or physiotherapist who has demonstrated an advanced level of competence; has undertaken over 300 hours of advanced upper-limb education and assessment; has a minimum of 3600 hours in hand therapy clinical practice; has been assessed as qualified and competent to provide safe, evidence-based diagnosis, advice and treatment; and is awarded the credential of Accredited Hand Therapist by the Australian Hand Therapy Association Credentialing Council.

American Society of Hand Therapists
Hand Therapy Certification Commission
Hand Therapy Association of California
Hand Therapy New Zealand
British Association of Hand Therapists
International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy

We wish our members and hand therapy practitioners worldwide a happy Hand Therapy Week as we celebrate and highlight the vital work of hand therapy practitioners.

Thank you for aiding recovery from trauma or pain of the hand and upper limb. Your work allows patients to reclaim their independence and live their lives fully.

Thank you for your commitment to excellence and for the countless hours spent undertaking ongoing education and training to ensure that you provide evidence-based practice and optimal patient outcomes.

This year's theme is 'Balls and Falls', and we aim to increase recognition of the expertise of Accredited Hand Therapists in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries.

Have a great week, and celebrate yourself and one another.

Irish Association of Hand Therapists British Association of Hand Therapists American Society of Hand Therapists American Hand Therapy Foundation Interplast Australia & New Zealand Hand Therapy Certification Commission International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy

We are hiring!!!

New England Hand Therapy - Hand Therapy Practitioner

Hand Therapist OT/PT with a minimum of 3 years experience preferred, permanent part time 2-3 days/wk to join a busy hand clinic in northwest NSW.

Excellent remuneration and CPD opportunities. https://www.ahta.com.au/jobs

Hand Therapists are either Occupational Therapists or Physiotherapists. Either occupation can specialise into hand therapy and it can take 5 years to become an accredited hand therapist.

Happy World Physiotherapy Day. This year’s theme is arthritis with a focus on inflammatory arthritis. Below is an excellent article showing how Physiotherapy can be of help to arthritis sufferers.

For our wonderful patients- it’s hand therapy week and the focus is on workplace injuries. You can win $500 by sharing your experiences, see the link below.

www.ahta.com.au

Here at Coffs Coast and New England Hand Therapy we can splint and cast all ages. This is a young girl who fell on her hand and suffered a buckle fracture of her radius bone.
Anna from our Coffs Harbour rooms created this comfortable, lightweight and pretty splint to allow her to protect the bone while it’s healing and still be able to swim and shower.
Call us on 0256033806 to see how we can help with any splinting or plastering needs.

Here is a static progressive elbow flexion orthosis made by Natalie in our Coffs Harbour clinic. The patient had a radial head fracture and removal of hardware and capsular release. He was having a tough time getting his bending motion back so we made this to assist in a long controlled stretch. Do you know we treat elbows and shoulders? Drop us a line if you’re struggling with an injury or a fracture to your elbow or shoulder to see how we might be able to help.

Here’s to a happy and prosperous 2023 to all of our supporters. We are back in the clinic on the 3rd of January after our well earned break.

Happy birthday to this amazing lady. We wish you all the best for your special day. XO

Our Coffs Coast Team celebrating a wonderful year together. Sadly the girls from Armidale couldn’t make it down the mountain.

It’s hard to believe it’s this time of year already. We will be closed from the 24/12/2022 - 2/1/2023 enjoying the Christmas period with our loved ones. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas from all of us at Coffs Coast and New England Hand Therapy. Thankyou for your continued support, we look forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Coffs Kids in Motion are hiring! If you think this might interest you, please take a look at the flyer and get in contact with us.
We would love to hear from you 😊

Contact Kay Joseph on:
6652 1252 or [email protected]

What does OT mean to me? Reflecting on this question for OT week this year, I am grateful that my career has allowed me the opportunity to make a difference in the life of others. OT’s have the ability to work in a variety of roles in which they use their skills to support others to meet their goals and engage in meaningful activities; helping people to achieve what they want and need to do in life.

Anna is from our Coffs Harbour practice, to read more about what OT means to Anna follow the link below https://coffscoasthandtherapy.com.au/what-ot-means-to-me/

What does Occupational Therapy mean to me? OT is very a multi-faceted profession and defining it in one sentence is not easy however to me it means – helping people “do” the activities they need and want to perform, and in doing so increasing their functional independence and sense of well-being....

Katie is from our Armidale practice, to read more about what OT means to Katie follow the link below https://coffscoasthandtherapy.com.au/what-ot-means-to-me/

Here at Coffs Coast and New England Hand Therapy we tailor make orthoses for each individual. Our team includes an accredited Hand therapist, an Occupational Therapist and a Physiotherapist. Together we can optimise your outcomes and create a cast or orthosis for your specific condition or problem.

Tailor-made splints/orthoses:
Hand therapists sometimes have to get creative when treating patients.
This patient is a physiotherapist and tore the scapholunate ligament of her wrist. She was still needing to work and as part of her job she needs to do soft tissue work and mobilisations of the neck and back, this involves pushing through the palm and helping to crack and mobilise patients' backs.

This splint/orthosis helps to stabilise her wrist and support the ligament to allow it to repair. The padding on the outside of the splint/orthosis is to allow some grip and padding so she can continue to treat her patients.

We are Hiring.
If you are looking for a part time job as a Medical Administrator click the link and apply.

Reception and Medical Administration Job in Coffs Harbour, Coffs Harbour & North Coast NSW Coffs Coast Hand Therapy is looking for a Medical Administrator/Receptionist for our Coffs Harbour Practice .

INDUSTRIAL SHED NEEDED FOR FIRST OF ITS KIND BASKETBALL FACILITY | NBN News Mid North Sport INDUSTRIAL SHED NEEDED FOR FIRST OF ITS KIND BASKETBALL FACILITY By Britt Ramsey - August 9, 2022 Share Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest WhatsApp The Coffs Coast could soon be home to a first-of-its-kind, designated basketball coaching and training facility. North Coast Basketball....

Have you injured yourself and not quite sure what to do? Here’s some great advice for management of acute soft tissue injuries from a respected source.

PEACE & LOVE: a guide for soft tissue rehabilitation 💪

The latest evidence-based tips and tricks from the world of sports medicine!

Read our post here ➡️ https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2019/04/26/soft-tissue-injuries-simply-need-peace-love/

Have you had surgery? Need stitches removed? Hand therapists are highly skilled at wound care and suture removal after injury and surgery.

Find a local hand therapist at AHTA.com.au

We are so excited to welcome back our amazing Anna Blucher. Anna has been busy whilst she has been away. Not only is she an amazing Mum to Mia but she has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes and has become an Accredited Hand Therapist as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association. We are so proud of you and can’t wait to have you back on Monday and Friday in the Coffs Clinic.

Please wear a mask when you visit us in the clinic. See NSW Health directive below.

Masks are still mandatory in the following settings across NSW:

• public transport and public transport waiting areas
• taxis and ride-share services
• on a domestic commercial aircraft (including when the aircraft is flying above NSW
• public hospitals or private health facilities
• residential care facilities or hostels
• cruise terminals

Masks are still recommended outside of these settings, particularly indoors and for customer-facing retail staff where it can be hard to keep your distance from others.

More info: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe/rules/face-mask-rules

Congratulations to Minjee Lee, such an incredible achievement 👏🏼🎉

Minjee Lee's US Women's Open triumph Minjee Lee becomes just the third Australian to win the biggest tournament in women's golf -- the US Women's Open.

Wow, interesting and beautiful at the same time.

✋Here’s What Happens When You Culture the Bacteria on an Eight-Year-Old’s Hand✋NOTE: This is completely normal and healthy! ‘The world is teeming with microbes. That fact is never so graphically apparent as when someone actually takes the time to culture the bacteria and yeast growing on everything — from pillowcases to toilets to eyeballs. Fortunately many of these microbes are vital to human health. So perhaps this photo of the stuff previously living on an eight-year-old boy’s hand can be appreciated rather than reviled.’

‘The page for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) recently shared (see ‘reference’ link below) a photo of a large bacterial culture plate bearing a handprint made of microbial colonies taken by Tasha Sturm. Sturm, who works as a lab tech at Cabrillo College in California, created the evocative culture by pressing her son’s hand into an agar plate after he was playing outside. Agar is commonly used to culture microbes because it provides a nutrient-rich base for microorganisms to grow. She posted the hand print microbe portrait at MicrobeWorld.org, run by the ASM.’

‘Sturm explains in detail how the plate needs to be cultured and incubated to get the best results — apparently some of the colonies of yeast and fungi only take on color when they are grown at room temperature. Sturm has printed both of her kids’ hands for a few years now and saves the results for microbiology classes at the college. She explained more in an email to Smart News: “I used to do my daughter’s hand until her hand became too big for the large plates and then started doing my son. I save the plates and give it to the instructors to use as a demo for the class. My kids think it is "cool" and the students like it as well.”’

‘Determining the exact species would require some more testing, but Sturm added some tentative IDs in the comment section of the original post. White colonies are probably a form of Staphylococcus, which lives in people’s noses and skin. Most strains are harmless or even beneficial but some can cause disease when they grow where they shouldn’t, especially when they develop antibiotic resistance. Sturm also posted two close ups of colonies that are either species of Bacillus — a common soil bacterium, though one species is responsible for making feet stinky — or a yeast.’

‘Researchers are still working to explain exactly what this abundance of microbes on the body and its stunning diversity means for human health and disease. But one thing that is increasingly evident is that a germ-laden hand is perfectly normal and can even be beautiful.’ J⭐️

Source:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-happens-when-you-culture-bacteria-eight-year-olds-hand-180955528/

Reference:
https://m.facebook.com/asmfan/photos/a.10150187233105200.368524.62453295199/10154097295750200/?type=1&theater

What is it Wednesday?
What bone is fractured here?

The scaphoid bone.
It is a small peanut-shaped bone in the wrist near the base of the thumb. It can be a tricky bone and fracture to pick up on an initial x-ray. The best practice is if you suspect a scaphoid fracture, then treat it like a scaphoid fracture.

These bones have a poor blood supply and are slow to heal. If they are displaced by more than 1mm then surgery is needed. Surgery involves a screw to help push the bone pieces together. Sometimes a bone graft is needed.

These can take longer than the usual 6-8 weeks to heal. Usually, bone bridging can be seen at 12 weeks but it can still take up to 6 months for sufficient healing.

Usually, there is not much swelling with these fractures and you can still move your wrist and thumb but it is tender over the thumb side of the wrist.

If you have wrist pain after a fall or impact to the wrist see your local hand therapist.

Do you know we treat fractures? We can assist in immobilising your fracture in a custom splint or a cast. If you have a fracture give us a call for more information on how we can help.

Great illustration to explain Salter Harris Fractures in children.

Salter Harris Fractures are fractures in children that involve the growth plate.
A good way to remember is S-A-L-TE-R:

Salter Harris Type I: (Slip) fracture to the cartilage of the growth plate. They heal fast but are hard to see on an x-ray.

Salter Harris Type II: (Above) above the epiphysis and into the growth plate. This is the most common type.

Salter Harris Type III: (Lower) fracture below the growth plate.

Salter Harris Type IV: (Through Everything) these usually need surgery

Salter Harris Type V: (Rammed) Hard to see on an x-ray, worse complications and damage to the growth plate.

Anything 3 and above should be seen by a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon or hand surgeon.

Photo credit: http://ed.gr/dxd19

We would appreciate it if you can wear your mask in your consultation with us.

Wearing a mask is still required in public hospitals and licensed private health facilities.

We strongly recommend wearing masks in general practices and medical centres.

More info on face mask rules in NSW: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe/rules/face-mask-rules

No words. Love this ❤️

"Grandma how do you deal with pain?"

"With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more."

“With your hands, grandma?"

"Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our Soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking them into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your Soul calms down. This way she doesn't have to send pain anymore to show it.”

"Are hands really that important?"

"Yes my girl. Think of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touch. When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body.

Everything that is made by hand, so it is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected.

Think of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way.”

"My hands grandma... how long since I used them like that!"

"Move them my love, start creating with them and everything in you will move. The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won't hurt as much anymore, because you managed to embroider your Essence.”

~Elena Barnabé

Beautiful flowers from an amazing patient who has finished her hand therapy after a whole year.