The Hand to Shoulder Podcast

My pollex is not cooperating! Have you noticed when treating CMC arthritis or LRTI/arthroplasty patient’s that they just can’t control both MP and IPJs when it comes to motion or strengthening? Well, their stability and neuromotor control has gone haywire with poor pinching habits over the years. Tune in with Virginia O’Brien from Madison, WI to listen how to tease out these control patterns via e...

Take a look in the mirror! Have you ever used mirror box therapy to help restore normal movement patterns? Join us where we reunite with Miranda Materi OTD, OTR/L, CHT from Phoenix, AZ discuss how Mirror Box Therapy can help with many different diagnoses from amputations to CRPS and even just stiffness. Miranda dives into how Mirror Box Therapy can be built at home in a “do it yourself” fashion or...

The internet can be a great place to go when looking for exercises or information on treating patients. We have everything at our fingertips -  we are seeing more patients come to into the clinic with a self-prescribed home program they got from Youtube. Youtube can be an excellent resource for exercises and information. However, is it appropriate for everyone? Are the exercises addressing th...

From your mouth to your feet, the hinge that feeds you and puts your socks on. What could go wrong and how to “fix it”.  Join Hand to Shoulder and Dr. Boyd Lumsden, M.D with Hand to Shoulder Center of Wisconsin to discuss several diagnoses of the elbow joint, a surgeon’s perspective and recommendations for therapy. Dr. Boyd C. Lumsden, M.D. is one of our very own skilled surgeons who joined Hand t...

Do you struggle prescribing exercises? Have that one patient who is not responding to the same exercise that helps every other patient? Have you ever thought about testing a one rep max as a part of some's rehab? In this episode Ryan and Steve are joined by Mark Gallant DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT to discuss progressions, dosage, and loading for exercises. Mark gives case examples with shoulder and elbow ex...

Have you ever gone to the internet to look for exercises to prescribe for your patients? Have you treated somebody who has come into the clinic and already has a self prescribed home program they got from Youtube? Youtube can be an excellent resource for exercises and information. However, is it appropriate for everyone? Are the exercises addressing the impairments? Steve sits down with previous g...

Where do you start when someone comes in with shoulder pain? Is it really the shoulder causing the pain? In this episode Ryan Holewinski, PT, DPT joins the show to co-host as we sit down and chat with Chad Burnham, DPT, FAFS, CSCS to discuss treating conservative shoulder pain. 

One LIMB at a time…..have you ever worked with a patient who is in need of a prosthetic? Today, Shelly Somers, PT, DPT, CHT, ATC, CMTPT, joins the podcast in a great conversation with Jennifer Peterson, MA, PT and Patrick Prigge, CP, FAAOP(D) from Arm Dynamics in Maple Grove, MN. We discuss the process of obtaining a prosthetic for an amputee and the proper steps needed to get him or her measured,...

Have you ever treated someone with numbness and tingling and you couldn't quite figure it out or help them the way you wanted? Have you ever thought about starting your exam proximally? Oftentimes with nerve compression conditions, we see proximal involvement in addition to the distal presentation, which unlocks a whole new realm of treatment possibilities for positive outcomes. Join us on today's...

Got a TWITCH...... Join us as we explore how a taut band trigger point forms, chemical breakdown and what occurs to the band as a muscle is dry needled. Jan Dommerholt, President of Myopain Seminars, interviews with us discussing logistics, principles and current concepts of dry needling. He answers important questions on this hot topic and when this treatment technique is a warranted adjunct and...

Hand to Shoulder Center sits down with Dr. Donald LaLonde from St. Petersburg, Nova Scotia, Canada where he describes the evolution of wide awake, local anesthesia, no tourniquet procedures, specific to flexor tendon repairs. Dr. LaLonde is a current practicing plastic surgeon who continues to develop new research and is an icon speaker internationally. He provides excellent clinical pearls for te...

The rule of thumb…many have experienced the uncomfortable sensation of pain at the base of their thumb at some point in life, especially therapists! Let’s learn from Mirka Normand, out of Connecticut, to unpack the multitude of factors that lead to CMC arthritis. Learn how to address it from our evaluation strategies to treatment and splinting options. Mirka Normand graduated with a Bachelor of Sc...

Lateral elbow pain…..ughhh… the low back pain of the upper extremity. Jim Wagner, OTD, OTR/L, CHT, CPAM, CSCS from upstate New York, sits down with the Hand to Shoulder Center to discuss his approach to the lateral elbow. Jim provides a top down approach from the neck to the hips, how movement patterns from other areas of the body can cause lateral elbow pain. Clinical pearls for evaluation, treat...

Come take a tour with us, dissecting idiosyncrasies and procedures of the wrist! Dr. Jon Cherney, board certified hand surgeon, and Hand to Shoulder Center’s very own, anatomize wrist surgeries and recovery following. Dr. Cherney is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery with a Subspecialty Certification in Surgery of the Hand. He specializes in arthroscopy of the wrist, elbow...

Have you wondered why some of your patients with thumb pain, post-distal radius fracture, or wrist tendinopathy are not improving? You might be missing a huge link of the radial column. In this episode Ann Porretto-Loehrke, PT, DPT, CHT, COMT, CMTPT educates us on the anatomy and biomechanics of the radial column of the wrist.  Ann Porretto-Loehrke graduated with a BS in PT from Marquette Universi...

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) can be a tricky beast. Luckily we have Miranda Materi on the podcast today to help us better understand this intimidating condition in order to give our patients the best possible outcome. Miranda received her professional clinical doctorate in occupational therapy from Creighton University in 2006. After practicing hand therapy for five years, she became a ce...

The tenth episode of the Hand to Shoulder Podcast is all about baseball. More specifically, we talk about assessing and treating pitchers. And who's a better expert on this topic than Dr. Garrett Bullock? Not only is he a Doctor of Physical Therapy, he is also a former collegiate and professional baseball player. Dr. Bullock provides insight on ways to assess the lower extremity as a critical part...

Do you have patients you just cannot seem to get out of pain or explain the reasoning behind their pain? Dr. Chad Cook returns to take a deeper dive into the complex world of pain. In addition to his clinical research, advocating for the therapy profession, and treating patients, Dr. Cook holds a Certificate in Chronic Pain Management from McGill University. In this episode, we discuss pain types...

The Extensor Tendons. Located on the back of the hand, sometimes referred to as the extensor hood, the extensor mechanism, etc. It can get complicated with the different structures. Listen as Josh MacDonald MS, OTR-L, CHT from Hand Therapy Partners guides you through all you need to know. Josh is a certified hand therapist (CHT) with extensive experience working directly with hand surgeons to help...

Have you ever wondered where and when hand therapy was born? Well Terri Skirven, OTR/L, CHT walks us through the seeds of when, where and how hand therapy blossomed. She outlines the foundation of the ASHT Board and Conference, Philadelphia Hand Conference and how the iconic CHT (Certified Hand Therapy Exam) was instituted, as well as how to become a speaker for continuing education conferences. T...

The flexor tendon system of the hand is what we use to interact with our environment. Dr. Rebecca Neiduski, PhD,OTR/L, CHT, from Elon University, dissects tendon zones, strand repairs and progression of therapy after a flexor tendon repair. Rebecca received a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Leisure Studies from Purdue University; a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Washington Univ...

Have you ever considered economics, education, neighborhood, and lifestyle choices of each of your patient's when treating them and how this may impact their treatment? Today we are joined by Dr. Zachary D. Rethorn to educate us on this topic. Dr. Zachary D. Rethorn is a board-certified orthopedic physical therapist and certified health coach with clinical and research expertise in musculoskeletal...

The Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) can be a complicated and intimidating structure. Theresa Parry OTR, CHT, COMT joins us to break it down with an insightful discussion of the structures, the role, rehabilitation, and orthotic selection when treating someone with TFCC involvement.  If you are interested in learning from Theresa she teaches continuing education courses for the Intern...

Dr. Chad Cook is a clinical researcher out of Duke University, a physical therapist, and a profession advocate with a history of clinical care excellence and service. His passions include refining and improving the patient examination process and validating tools used in day-to-day physical therapist practice. As you will hear, he has over 300 publications and is a wealth of knowledge in...

Welcome to the first ever episode of the Hand to Shoulder Podcast! We are excited to kick things off with an interview that will leave you motivated to change your clinical approach with your very next patient and likely even try new things with patients who come to mind as you listen. Our guest, Andrew Walquist, is a PT with an impressive resume and a perspective on rehab that is fresh and effect...