At the Vancouver Hand Clinic, arthritis care is about attention to detail, compassion and experience. Our therapists provide a detailed assessment and subsequent individualized rehab plans which may include exercise, custom splint or bracing. And of course, lots of sensible advice.

Stephanie Chung has extensive experience in arthritis management through her many years of work with OASIS and the Arthritis Program at Vancouver Coastal Health. She also teaches Masters level arthritis courses in the UBC Department of Occupation Therapy.

We treat a wide variety of Repetitive Strain or Overuse Injuries. The pain usually rises gradually and may be worse during daily activities like using your phone or computer.

Tennis elbow (or inflammation/changes to the common extensor tendon) is an example of a common elbow condition that we treat - and it usually has nothing to do with playing tennis. The first line of defense is a well-fitting counterforce brace, education, ergonomics and exercises based on the stage of recovery.

Tendinitis (aka tendinopathy or tendinosis) is common. It can be due to overuse, ergonomic problems or even trauma, such as after a fall. You may have pain, swelling, or even clicking or locking when you move your fingers or wrist. They might also feel ‘stuck’ or stiff, especially in the morning.

A common example is DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis (aka “new mum thumb”). Key symptoms: pain along the thumb side of the wrist, tenderness in the area, and pain when moving your thumb. A custom thermoplastic splint is a key part of recovery and is superior to an off-the-shelf brace. This splint is pictured above.

We treat a variety of trauma and post-operative conditions and work closely with doctors and surgeons. These include fractures with plates/screws, tendon ruptures and associated repairs, pulley/carpal tunnel releases, nerve injuries, FOOSH, TFCC, and fasciotomy for Dupuytren’s. If the surgeon requests a post-operative splint, we make these in the clinic. We also provide education, exercises and manual therapy at the appropriate phase of your recovery.

Lisette Cheng, pictured above, works at the Vancouver Hand Clinic as well as Vancouver General Hospital in trauma & hand therapy.

Joint pain can be due various factors including injuries, arthritis annd/or overuse. A common reason can be underlying general hypermobility. Maybe you used to have a “party trick” with how flexible your thumb was - and now it’s painful.

In these cases, we provide education regarding ideal positions for your hands, strengthening exercises and usually some form of support for the joints. We can help take the pressure (and pain) off your joints via custom thermoplastic splints, Oval 8 splints, silver ring splints or other lighter taping techniques.

From competitive athletes to weekend warriors, we treat many types of athletes. Our goal is to maximize your hand’s recovery while minimizing any time away from your sport. Examples include mallet finger, skier’s thumb, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, overuse or even falls on the court that lead to sprains or strains. We can get creative with splints, flexible taping techniques and padding to help you get back to sport faster.

For example, the ideal custom splint for the initial phase of recovery for skier’s thumb, a ligament injury, is pictured above. We then progress you to an exercise program while weaning off the splint.

Is there numbness, tingling, pain or unusual weakness in your hand? We are here to provide a detailed assessment to help figure out if a nerve is impacted and why. We then provide education, exercises and custom splints if needed.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common nerve issue that can result in pain, numbness or tingling in the hand. It can also lead to weakness with pinching and gripping. In order to maximize nerve recovery, it is important to have a high quality night splint, pictured above, which prevents wrist flexion and full finger flexion.

Finger pulleys are important soft tissues that run along the palm side of your fingers. They are vital structures that hold your finger tendons in place during gripping. They can be torn to various degrees by overload or by trauma.

A common injury in rock climbing is a finger pulley injury, typically A2 or A4. A custom pulley splint is the gold standard treatment. This splint supports the pulley and allows it to heal while allowing fairly functional use of your hand.

Alex Osatchuk, pictured above, has a special interest in climbing injuries and enjoys climbing herself.

Stephanie Chung fabricates fully waterproof, fully washable splints. These are often a requirement for infection-control protocols in the hospital system. These splints follow the IPAC guidelines (Infection Prevention and Control Canada).

The splint material is plastic, non-perforated and does not contain any velcro components. Most splints are available in this form - call us if you have any questions.