Instructional Concurrent Session 7

This session will spotlight several of the Clinical Practice Posters presented at this year's Annual Meeting. Presentations of interesting cases and novel treatment or educational approaches will be followed by time for discussion and audience questions. Come to learn, innovate, and collaborate.

Distal radius fractures (DRF) represent the most common upper extremity fracture (17.5%). In the last 30 years there has been a profound paradigm shift in how surgeons treat DRFs both with regard to propensity to operate and choice of surgical method. Well molded casts have been displaced by internal fixation and early mobilization. What is the data supporting this change in paradigm? What do these shifts in medical/surgical management mean to the treating therapist?

This presentation opens by challenging the clinician with a series of DRF clinical vignettes and asks the audience to weigh in (by hand-raise, clicker, or app-based response if conference supported). The presentation then explores the risks and benefits of those decisions based on publications on the topic. It explores the 'Roads not Taken' in the decision tree and whether better choices could be made.

This is an advanced presentation that explains the statistics that are used in meta-analyses (such as Forest Plots and Minimal Clinically Important Differences in DASH scores). After exploring the paradigm shifts in medical/surgical treatment, the presentation then shifts to apply similar statistical rigor to the evaluation of therapy interventions following DRFs. The presentation explores patient expectation setting based upon long-term data, patient empowerment in their own healing, geographic variations, treatment frequency variations and outcomes differences resulting from these differences. The presentation provides digestible take-away 'sound bites' from this data so that therapists can apply this knowledge in their own clinics. A selected bibliography of 29 research articles (from a full bibliography of 99 articles) is presented for further post-conference reading by therapists and forms the basis of this presentation.

This 60 minute session examines how crush injuries complicate hand fracture progression — including multi-system involvement, soft tissue compromise, complex fracture patterns, delayed union, and secondary complications (infection, stiffness, neurovascular injury). Through concise evidence synthesis, clinical case vignettes, radiograph and photo interpretation, participants will refine assessment, triage, conservative vs. referral indications, and rehabilitation planning to optimize functional recovery.

This session addresses burnout among healthcare professionals, focusing on recognition, risk factors, and practical prevention and management strategies at both individual and organizational levels. Burnout will be defined using the World Health Organization's ICD-11 framework, emphasizing exhaustion, increased mental distance or cynicism toward work, and reduced professional efficacy. The session will clearly distinguish stress from burnout by examining differences in causes, duration, emotional and physical symptoms, energy levels, cognitive effects, and outcomes if left undaddressed. Common physical, emotional, and behavioral warning signs will be reviewed to help participants recognize when chronic stress progresses to burnout.

Contributing factors across organizational, psychological, environmental, and sociodemographic domains will be examined, along with evidence-based consequences such as reduced engagement, absenteeism, turnover, and compromised quality of care. Participants will explore actionable strategies, including mindfulness, resilience skills, boundary setting, physical activity, self-compassion, and peer or professional support, as well as organizational approaches such as supportive leadership, adequate staffing, flexibility, and autonomy, and burnout-aware management.

Active learning will be promoted through reflection and small-group discussion. Participants will identify warning signs and develop concise action plans incorporating both individual and system-level strategies to reduce burnout and foster resilience.

Thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) pain, weakness, and functional instability are common and disruptive concerns in hand therapy, and conservative care includes interventions aimed at supporting dynamic stability. However, the published literature varies in how stabilization-focused interventions are described, progressed, and evaluated–making evidence-informed clinical decision-making less straightforward, particularly for clinicians newer to hand therapy.

This 60-minute instructional session translates findings from a faculty-led, graduate student—driven scoping review that mapped conservative, dynamic stability—focused interventions and summarized the outcome measures used to assess pain and function. The scoping review followed established JBI and PRISMA-ScR guidance. Across 26 studies, interventions clustered into four categories: joint mobilization/manual therapy, proprioceptive and neuromuscular control approaches, dynamic stabilization and isometric strengthening strategies, and orthotic interventions. Outcomes most often included pain ratings, grip and pinch strength, and self-reported function (e.g., QuickDASH), while follow-up beyond three months was reported less consistently.

The session uses an evidence-map framework to support applied clinical reasoning. Participants will learn to recognize intervention categories, select goal-aligned outcome measures, and clearly communicate and document a defensible conservative plan when evidence is variable or limited. The take-home focus is practical: stronger outcome selection, transparent rationale-building, and greater confidence in translating research into daily hand therapy practice.