Safety & Injury Prevention
ASHT offers prevention and safety tips for a number of common activities that can lead to hand injury and trauma:
- Safe Cooking Tips
- Safe Gardening Tips
- Safe Turkey Carving Tips
- Safe Pumpkin Carving Tips
- Preventing Repetitive Strain Injuries
- Preventing Injuries From Portable Electronics and Video Game Usage
Safety and Injury Prevention Video Series
NEW: Cell Phone & Texting
Texting has certainly become one of our go-to methods of communication in recent years. As therapists, we often see injuries related to mobile device use. Protect your hands and upper extremity while texting and using your cell phone with these quick tips from the American Society of Hand Therapists.
Telehealth
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has become more prevalent as a way to obtain treatment safely from your home. ASHT has created this video to address questions about telehealth and to highlight how telehealth can be an effective method to achieve your hand and upper extremity rehabilitation goals.
Virtual Learning
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more students have engaged in virtual learning remotely from home or as part of a hybrid learning model. ASHT offers these tips for setting up a safe and ergonomically correct workspace to prevent injury and promote a successful learning environment.
Sports Injuries
Hand therapists frequently see a variety of sports injuries -- most commonly trauma or overuse. Learn more about common injuries and conditions treated by a hand therapist, including gamekeeper's thumb, little league elbow, golfer's elbow, tennis elbow, fractures and joint dislocations. This video also covers injury prevention tips and special considerations for youth athletes.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very common term to the general population, but with that comes many misconceptions of the correct signs and symptoms. This video helps to identify symptoms, causes and treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome with information from hand therapists.
Meal Prep Safety
Most of us spend a good deal of time preparing meals, from shopping for items, carting them home, preparing dishes and then cleaning up. As hand therapists, we see a variety of injuries that could have been prevented with a little extra caution and a better understanding of how to protect yourself. Take a look at these tips for meal prep from ASHT.
Desk Ergonomics
Many people spend the majority of their weeks in the office and/or working at a desk. As hand therapists, we see a number of patients with injuries that could have been prevented with a better understanding of ergonomics, specifically related to setting up their office spaces, chairs, computer monitors, etc. Learn how to prevent injury while working at your desk with these tips from ASHT.
Portable Electronics
Technology is now an integral part of our lives, and many people are using portable electronics such as cell phones and tablets for extensive periods of time each day. As hand therapists, we see a large number of patients with injuries that could have been prevented with a little bit of understanding. Protect your hands and upper extremity while using portable electronics with these tips from ASHT.
Gardening
As hand therapists, we see a large number of patients with injuries that could have been prevented with a little bit of understanding and forethought. Protect your hands and upper extremity while gardening with these tips from ASHT.
ASHT has partnered with the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) to contribute to the society's HandCare.org blog, a great resource for patients and the public.
View some of ASHT's latest contributions to the HandCare.org blog:
- Leash/Pet Walking Safety
- Gardening Safety
- Snow Removal Tips
- Protecting Your Joints
- Tips to Avoid Common Holiday Injuries
- Cervical Radiculopathy (not all hand numbness is carpal tunnel syndrome)
- Football Hand Injuries
- Backpack Awareness (pack it light -- wear it right!)
- Pumpkin Carving Without Knives (modifications for safe holiday fun)
- Upper Extremiy Prosthetics (the latest developments in prosthetics)
- Desk Posture (simple exercises to prevent issues)
- FOOSH (fall on the outstretched hand -- hoverboard injuries and beyond)
- Central Sensitization (why do I still have pain?)
- Mallet Finger (my finger won't straighten anymore)