Fox 12 Good Day Living’s Stephanie Kralevich recently caught up with Dr. Samuel Cheesman and Heather Peterson, OTR/L, CHT, from ROC’s hand specialty team.
Dr. Cheesman and Heather discuss how ROC treats common hand conditions, why hand injuries require timely care, and how integrated hand therapy supports recovery.
Video Transcript:
Stephanie Kralevich: ROC Orthopedics has a team of hand specialists who can help patients suffering from arthritis, carpal tunnel, sports injuries, and more. Today we are meeting with orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Samuel Cheesman and certified hand specialist, Heather Peterson. Dr. Cheesman, let’s start with you. Tell us about the patients you see here at ROC.
Dr. Samuel Cheesman: We see all ages here, so we see young kids with fractures as well as older patients with numbness and tingling in their hands or with arthritis.
Stephanie Kralevich: Why are hand injuries different from other orthopedic conditions?
Dr. Samuel Cheesman: Hands have a tendency to get stiff faster. The amount of time we have to work the stiffness and swelling out of a hand is much less, which makes that timing more important.
Stephanie Kralevich: And Heather is a certified hand specialist. Why is having a full hand specialty team so important?
Dr. Samuel Cheesman: So the team approach allows us to treat all aspects of the patient. So we can get things started in clinic with more simple things like braces and injections, but a lot of the recovery process for patients is going to come with exercises and hard work with the therapy team.
Stephanie Kralevich: Heather, tell us how hand therapy works.
Heather Peterson, CHT, OTR/L: The first thing is identifying any problems that they have with any functional activities that they’re doing and maybe difficulty sleeping, identifying any potential complications. So that could be swelling or helping with pain.
Stephanie Kralevich: So what does it look like when a patient comes in with a hand injury? They don’t necessarily need surgery always, right?
Heather Peterson, CHT, OTR/L: A lot of times it’s just doing some conservative therapeutic approach. It could be exercises, it can be positioning and then getting them on a home exercise program.
Stephanie Kralevich: And Dr. Cheesman, what makes the hand specialty team here at ROC different?
Dr. Samuel Cheesman: The integrated approach that we have is very helpful. Finding any issue in a postoperative period or with a patient who just comes in the door, finding it early and treating it early is the most helpful thing that we can do. And so having a hand therapist in the clinic allows us to give people the treatment they need more quickly and to give them a more holistic treatment.
Stephanie Kralevich: To learn more about orthopedic care and recovery at Regenerative Orthopedic Center, visit rocpdx.com.