Certified Hand Therapy (CHT)
Many people take the use of their hands and arms for granted. They don’t truly understand how debilitating an upper extremity condition can be if they haven’t experienced one themselves.
But if you have an injury or disorder affecting your hands or arms, you know the experience involves more than the frustration around little tasks that have become painful or difficult. It also includes the regret of having to say “no” to activities you’d otherwise be able to enjoy.
At JAG Physical Therapy, we understand exactly how important your hands and arms are to your ability to live a fulfilling and productive life. And we have solutions we use every day to help people like you get back their abilities to enjoy life.
Our certified hand therapists have completed advanced continuing education courses and at least 4,000 hours of direct practice. They have complex knowledge, experience, and skill in treating various afflictions and helping patients regain function and mobility in their upper limbs.
Want to learn more about certified hand therapy, or how JAG PT can help? Contact one of our locations in New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania today!
What can a hand therapist do for me?
Hand therapy is practiced by physical therapists or occupational therapists trained in the rehabilitation of upper extremity disorders and injuries. A certified hand therapist (CHT) can treat injuries or conditions involving the fingers, hands and wrists, elbows, and shoulders and help you regain normal function.
Through continuing education courses and on-the-job experience, our hand therapists have developed experience treating these upper limb problems. They can provide everything from an initial evaluation to post-op rehabilitation, ensuring you get the continuum of care you need to recover your range of motion and live to your full abilities.
Once one of our certified hand therapists completes the exam of your arm and hand, they’ll advise you on what type of hand therapy will be best suited to improve your condition. Then they’ll create a personalized plan to help you find relief for your upper extremity issue.
Hand Therapy Treatments
Your hands are a sensitive part of the body, so if you have an upper extremity disorder or injury, you want to ensure your physical therapist is fully qualified to care for you. You can have peace of mind knowing that JAG Certified Hand Therapists have years of education and job experience, which go directly into the quality of your care.
Treatments offered by our certified hand therapists include:
- Managing your custom orthotic for upper limb function (to protect complex repairs, stabilize joints, or restore range of motion)
- Design and implementation of activity and upper limb exercise programs
- Management of edema and pain
- Wound and scar management
- Joint protection strategies
- Adaptive equipment recommendations
- Ergonomic evaluations and recommendations
Our CHTs can provide non-operative, preventative, and post-surgical hand therapy to help you recover from numerous upper extremity conditions, including:
- Fractures in any of the upper extremities, including hand fractures
- Dislocations of the upper extremities
- Instabilities of the hands, wrist, shoulder, or elbow
- Soft tissue exam and repair, including nerve repairs, nerve transfers, tendon repairs, tendon transfers, ligament repairs, and DRUJ reconstructions
- Joint replacements (CMC, MP, PIP)
- Ulnar shortening osteotomy
- Amputation or replants
- Peripheral nerve compressions
- Trigger finger release
- Tumor/Cyst removal
- Dupuytren’s release
- Dequervain’s tenosynovitis
- Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis
Expertise of our CHTs
Patients of certified hand therapists (CHTs) can receive rehabilitation care to treat a range of conditions affecting the hands and arms. You can also expect a hand therapy practice with the reputation of JAG PT to have a team of individuals with deep knowledge of upper extremity issues.
Our certified hand therapists have completed years of higher education courses and thousands of hours of direct practice. Our CHT team members also have clinical experience and integrated knowledge in anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics, so they're skilled in treating complex finger, hand, wrist, and elbow injuries.
Several of our hand therapists are members of the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT), an organization of committed hand therapy professionals whose goal is to promote hand therapy education and understanding around upper extremity issues.
Our team is highly trusted and successful in their ability to bring function and mobility back to their patients’ upper limbs, and they’re happy to help you develop a personalized treatment plan for your specific condition.
Get Certified Hand Therapy at JAG PT
When facing an upper extremity injury or disorder, getting the right rehabilitation treatment from a certified therapist is a vital first step on your path to recovery. At JAG Physical Therapy, you can count on our certified hand therapists for expert care.
JAG Physical Therapy proudly offers hand therapy throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact us or visit a JAG PT location near you today.
Bring mobility and comfort back to your hands, wrists, and arms — and get back the life you love — with Certified Hand Therapy from JAG Physical Therapy.
Kathryn Haskins PT, DPT, OCS, CHT: Kathryn graduated first in her class with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Shenandoah University in 2011 and successfully obtained her board certification as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Having developed an affinity for the upper extremity as a collegiate softball pitcher, Kathryn pursued specialization in her field after practicing for a number of years. She completed a Hand Therapy Fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery and went on to earn her designation of Certified Hand Therapist (CHT). Kathryn has a special passion for exercising creativity through custom orthosis fabrication, and also enjoys integrating her orthopedic knowledge of more distant movement systems that influence the mechanics and function of the upper extremity.
Melissa Roesch-Kanter OT, CHT: Melissa is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist with more than 30 years of clinical experience treating complex upper extremity injuries. Melissa is passionate about creating personalized treatment programs following a comprehensive evaluation of hand function. Melissa educates herself on the most current treatment techniques to help her patients maximize function and return to work and leisure activities. Special skill areas include: custom orthotic fabrication, manual therapy, wound care and management, soft tissue and elbow injuries.
Lynn Simon, OTR, CHT: Lynn is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist with more than 35 years of experience treating complex conditions and injuries to the hand, wrist and elbow. She maintains excellent communication with referring physicians and provides in-depth patient education in order to provide optimal outcomes. Lynn expertly fabricates custom orthosis to protect / immobilize joints in order to maximize function for participation in daily activities, with a special focus on orthosis for athletes to return to competition. In addition, Lynn’s areas of clinical expertise include treating complex elbow and tendon injuries, tendinopathies of the elbow, wrist and hand, and arthritis of the upper extremity.
Shari Bensadoun, MS, OTR/L, CHT: Shari Bensadoun is a licensed Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist. She is a graduate of Touro College School of Health Sciences with a master's degree in Occupational Therapy in 2008 where she earned a place in the Pi Theta Epsilon Honor Society. After working as an Occupational Therapist and dedicating her time to continued learning she decided to further her career within the field of Hand therapy and become a Certified Hand Therapist. She specializes in post-operative rehabilitation and custom splinting and is certified in the Graston Technique. She also dedicates her time as a fieldwork supervisor for OT students.
Carole Anne Andreou MAOTR, CHT: Carole A. Andreou graduated from NYU with her Master's degree in Occupational Therapy. She has been a therapist for over 30 years and a CHT for over 20 of those years. She has experience in working with the neurological hand in cases of MS and Parkinson's as well as with orthopedic conditions such as fractures, amputations, burns, tendon/nerve repairs. Carole has experience in manual therapy including MFR, mobilization, lymphedema.
Maxcita Alvarez OTR/L, CHT: As an Occupational Therapist specializing in Hand Therapy practice, Maxcita’s absolute passion has been to increase her patients’ awareness/knowledge of their injuries. Through understanding we are able to capture purpose and work harder to achieve goals. Patient education is essential in ensuring compliance and improvement. Her growth as a clinician has been inspired by the most amazing group of therapists and physicians who have mentored and educated her through their outstanding and exemplary work. Each day, Maxcita works to motivate and inspire her patients to do more than the day before. She incorporates her patients’ unique experiences, goals, and purpose, as she works together with each individual patient to get them back to performing their daily life skills and regaining mobility and strength. Maxcita has experience working throughout various hospitals/settings including St. Vincent's, Mt. Sinai, and NYU Student Health Service, Private Practice, and Outpatient Therapy.
Darya Dronov OTR/L: Darya is a licensed Occupational Therapist. She is a graduate of University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences with a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2017. She specializes in post-operative rehabilitation of the upper extremities and custom splinting. Darya is planning on earning her CHT (Certified Hand Therapist) in the near future. She also dedicates her time as a clinical instructor for OT students.
Esther Milina: Esther Milina graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical Center with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy. She began her career at JAG in 2019. Esther is a Graston Technique provider and certified in LSVT-BIG. Esther currently splits her time between our Atlantic Terminal & Midwood location and provides hand therapy treatment.
Chris Fasanella, MS, OTR/L: Chris received his BS from the University of Maryland and this MS in occupational therapy from NYU. With an interest in orthopedics during OT school, he completed fieldwork in outpatient rehab with CHTs and CLTs at GWU Hospital in DC and acute rehab in the burn center at NYP Cornell. His primary interests are in upper extremity post-operative rehabilitation and custom splinting. In addition to working in outpatient, he works part-time in orthopedic acute care at Hospital for Special Surgery in order to have a greater appreciation for the rehabilitation process from start to finish. Chris works out of our Jersey City Newport location.
Charles Graci, OTR/L: Charles is a practicing occupational therapist in the Westchester, N.Y. region. Charles obtained a master’s degree in occupational therapy at Dominican College. While working as an occupational therapist, he attended Thomas Jefferson University’s post-graduate hand and upper limb rehabilitation certificate program with the desire to specialize in the hand and upper extremity. Charles has earned his certificate in the hand and upper limb program, and has qualified to take the CHT (Certified Hand Therapist) exam in May 2022.
Barbara Golej-Figura, MS, OTR, CHT: Barbara is a certified hand therapist (CHT) and occupational therapist with more than 25 years of experience in the field. She was educated at Utica College of Syracuse University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy and made the Dean’s List upon graduating. Barbara later went on to attend Temple University, where she received an Advanced Master of Science in occupational therapy with an emphasis on hand therapy. Barbara manages patients with a wide variety of upper extremity injuries and conditions, but most frequently treats wrist and finger fractures, soft-tissue trauma, carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive overuse conditions, and inflammation disorders. She takes a highly personalized approach to patient care, making it a top priority to understand how each patient is impacted by injury in their daily activities and emotional wellbeing from the outset of their care plan. Barbara particularly enjoys meeting different people and watching them progress from an injured, painful stage to recovery and a return to work and leisure activities that leaves them satisfied with their outcomes.
Hand therapy at JAG Physical Therapy
JAG Physical Therapy proudly offers hand therapy throughout the local communities of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We understand the importance of returning our hand therapy patients to full function, feeling stronger and pain free! For more information about our services or to schedule an appointment at one of our convenient facilities, please contact us today.