Instructional Concurrent Session 1

The purpose of this course is to discuss various PIP injuries and the role of a surgeon/therapist collaborative relationship in optimizing patient outcomes. Various case studies will be presented by the surgeon, who will discuss intervention decisions, the surgical procedure, and preferred protocols. Follow-up therapeutic discussion will include clinical pearls and treatment approaches associated with each case. Throughout the course, there will be opportunities for interactive attendee participation and group discussion for various treatment ideas that have proven to be successful in individual practices. The collaborative discussion will provide opportunities to identify red flags early in recovery and offer alternative treatment options to redirect the course of treatment for improved functional results.

Level: Intermediate

Children and adults with upper extremity neuromotor impairment may benefit from reconstructive procedures to prevent progression of and/or correct contractures, improve motor function, and enhance upper extremity activity and participation. Individuals with neuromotor conditions may be referred to hand surgeons and hand therapists during childhood or adulthood. Individualized care and transitional clinical strategies are paramount for intervention planning as patient disease severity and goals vary/evolve at all life stages. A collaborative interdisciplinary approach is best used to identify candidacy for intervention because neuromotor upper extremity functional limitations commonly have multiple underlying factors including muscle tone abnormalities, muscle imbalances, joint disturbances, and central nervous system-based limitations such as limited awareness of the affected upper extremity. Hand therapists perform an integral role in assessing patients for surgical consultation, determining shared goals, and intervention planning. This interactive lecture session will provide an overview of the common upper extremity surgical interventions for this population. A case-based approach will be used to provide an overview of clinical assessments, outcome measures, and the indicators for reconstructive intervention. A framework for collaborative interdisciplinary assessment and intervention planning alongside goal setting with the patient and family will be presented. Presenters will utilize case discussion with course attendees to facilitate application of principles presented in this session.

Level: Intermediate

Routine measurement of patient outcomes is critical for delivering high quality care to individual patients as well as demonstrating and improving the value of our services. There is a wide range of available measures that may be relevant for hand therapy patients. For example, measures can assess physical impairments or limitations in activity and participation, they may be patient-reported or performance-based, they may be generic or specific to a condition or body region, or they may include fixed items or be personalized. Selecting measures to use in the clinic can be overwhelming and requires both an understanding of the science of measurement properties and the art of aligning measures with the patient presentation, the patient’s needs and goals, and potentially regulatory or payer requirements. This session will provide a practical overview of specific measurement properties that hand therapists should understand in order to guide measure selection. It will also describe advantages and disadvantages of specific types of measures to help therapists critically select measures in the clinic.

Level: Entry 

This instructional course will review current concepts about early motion for complex injuries of the hand. The course will include principles of surgical and therapy management which will be illustrated through lecture and case presentations. Topics discussed will include early motion for replantations, intra-articular fractures, complex fractures, and soft tissue reconstructions including single stage delayed flexor tendon reconstructions.

Level: Intermediate