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• Ergonomic watering tools. Dragging a watering hose through the garden and coiling it back up afterward can cause aches and pains in the arms and hands. Lightweight garden hoses, soakers, and drip hoses can be more easily snaked throughout the garden, and hose chests with automatic rewinding features help you avoid the strain of manually coiling your watering equipment. • Container gardening. Find it difficult or painful to hunch over a ground bed? Container gardening, such as raised garden beds and trellises, can help. With container gardening, the garden is brought to you, eliminating the need to reach down to work on it– which, in turn, eases stress on the arm and shoulder muscles. Treating Hand and Wrist Pain at Hands for Living While ergonomic gardening tools are excellent for lowering the risk of pain and injury, you might still struggle with tendonitis or tendinopathy in your hands and wrists. That’s when it’s time to visit our team of Certified Hand Therapists. When you come in for your appointment, one of our hand experts will thoroughly evaluate your symptoms, range of motion, and more to help us determine what exactly is causing your difficulties. With that information, we’ll create an individualized treatment plan to relieve pain and improve overall function–so you can get back to your garden as quickly as possible.
While the exact nature of your treatment will vary, we may incorporate one or more of the following approaches, depending on your needs: • Manual therapy, including joint mobilizations and soft tissue manipulations, to help reduce pain • Guided exercises to help keep the affected joint moving and improve your range of motion
• At-home strengthening and stretching exercises to help you rehabilitate faster • Customized orthotics, such as a forearm- based thumb spica, to reduce pain and improve your hand’s functional ability as it heals Schedule an Appointment to Get Started! Whether you want to learn more about ergonomics in the garden or need treatment for lingering hand and wrist pain, the experts at Hands for Living are here to help! We’ll trim your pains so you can return to tending your garden without injury or limitations. Request your initial consultation today!
Sources: https://www.arthritis.org/partnership/ease-of-use-products/fiskars-powergear-bypass-pruner https://www.physio-pedia.com/Tendinopathy_Rehabilitation
Staff Spotlight
Kari Ketner, Certified Hand Therapist
As a Certified Hand Therapist, Kari is an occupational therapist specializing in hand and upper extremity conditions. Her professional interests include fractures, cumulative trauma injuries, post-surgical management, and
creates an individualized treatment plan drawing from a variety of skills. Her skills include: manual therapy, Bowenwork, L.I.F.T., ergonomics, postural re-education, stretching/ROM exercises, Astym, and customized home exercise programs. Kari believes that patient education regarding their condition and how to manage their health is essential to recovery. “I love working with my patients and am dedicated to providing them
fabrication of custom splints. Although she focuses on the upper extremity, her clinical practice has evolved to be more holistic. Through education, she has come to realize the importance of assessing posture and creating balance within the system. She assesses each client and
compassionate care that helps them return to full activity in their daily lives. “
Name Change!
Hand Therapy Northwest has changed its name to Hands for Living – Redmond. Same great therapists, same great location, and same great results! Give us a call to schedule your next appointment.
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