Hands down, Henderson is County’s sole hand therapist

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
SQUEEZE — Kiley Henderson, left, is now the only certified hand therapist north of Bangor. Above Henderson has client Jenn Foss squeeze the dynamometer to assess her grip strength.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Look at your hands. What would happen if you lost the use of your hands either by injury or disease? It could be devastating.
    But, Kiley Gray Henderson of Positive Steps, an affiliate of Houlton Regional Hospital, has now been licensed as a certified hand therapist.
    Henderson, a 1996 graduate of Houlton High School, is the only CHT north of Bangor and only one of 20 in the state to receive this qualification.
     “Everyone has a purpose in what they want to do during the day,” said Henderson. “When you have an injury that keeps you from doing that, it can be very discouraging. My goal is to meet patients’ goals, which are usually to return to an optimal functioning level. Whatever their goal is — what they need to do during their day — I want to get them back so they can do that without pain and limitations.”
    After graduating from the University of New England in 2001, Henderson began her career in occupational therapy. Ten years later, she has now gone back to the “books” and earned her hand therapy certification.
     “It was a hospital request because it was a service needed in the area,” Henderson explained. “With the amount of manual labor to industrial businesses — woodsmen, Smith and Wesson to Louisiana-Pacific to name a few — it was a good reason and opportunity to capitalize on it.”
    Certified hand therapists are either occupational therapists or physical therapists who have at least five years of clinical experience, including direct practice in hand therapy, and under the mentorship of another certified hand therapist.
    But, what is hand therapy? It is the art and science of rehabilitating the upper limb, which includes the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder girdle.
     “It is a practice combining comprehensive knowledge of the structure of the upper limb with function and activity,” according to the Hand Therapy Certification Commission.
    Henderson took her exam on May 6 and at the end of the month, she found out she had passed.
     “There is a lot that goes into being a hand therapist,” she said. “I had to know, be trained and prove my competency in treating the whole arm. Hand therapists are specialized in the upper extremity, offering more than generic treatment.”
    Henderson works with a patient from the assessment to planning and treatment options. She provides therapeutic intervention to prevent dysfunction, to restore and reverse progression of the upper limb in order to enhance a patient’s ability to perform tasks and participate fully in life.
    “Each individual is different, but it’s nice to see them get back to whatever it is that they want to do,” she said.
    Unfortunately, there are some cases that therapy cannot reverse.
     “If someone has a very crippling form of arthritis, this is not something that can be cured,” said Henderson, “However, I will try conservative treatment and education on joint protection techniques and offer adaptive equipment to make it easier to complete daily tasks.”
    Patients who come to Henderson have varying degrees of injury or disease. She helps treat degenerative changes, trauma disorders, wound care, developmental disabilities, fractures, ligament and tendon strains and pulls; cumulative trauma; nerve injuries to any discomfort in the whole upper quadrant.
     “Hand Therapists are trained to deal with your neck all the way down to your fingertips,” she said.
    Henderson has been working with Jen Foss, who works in the bakery department at Shop ‘n Save, on a work-related injury.
     “I was writing on a cake and my wrist popped,” Foss explained. “I ended up being diagnosed with a form of carpal tunnel.”
    Foss’s therapy consists of soft tissue modalities, splinting, range of motion exercises, nerve gliding, ROM, strengthening, and fine motor training.
     “I couldn’t even hold a pencil,” she said. “My fine motor skills were gone. My hand was numb and tingling like it had fallen asleep. I lost a lot of strength in my hand to try to hold things.”
    When Henderson assessed Foss, she could squeeze 64 pounds in her left hand and six in her right.
     “It’s gone up considerably,” Foss added since the treatment. “It is coming along, which is nice.”
     “She couldn’t bend her wrist past 20 degrees without getting a spasm,” Henderson said. “The sensation of an electrical impulse went down into her fingers to make them go instantly numb.”
    Henderson gets her goniometer out and measures Foss’ degree of movement and then she has Foss squeeze the dynamometer to assess grip strength.
     “She can squeeze 66 pounds in her left hand and 35 pounds in her right,” said Henderson.  “She is now able to bend the wrist to 55 degrees without any numbness.”
     “I am very excited about the fact that [my strength] seems like it has been awhile coming, but it actually hasn’t,” Foss said. “I think Kiley does a wonderful job.”
    While Foss has been undergoing treatment, she hasn’t missed a day of work.
    “It is very rewarding for me to see patients get back to their functioning level they need to be at to carry out their tasks,” said Henderson. “I wanted to be a part of helping people feel better. I like being an encouragement.”
    Henderson started as a pediatric therapist and has transitioned into her current position as a hand therapist where she schedules patients every 30-45 minutes for treatment sessions. Most of the time patients receive one-on-one care, to allow Henderson’s full concentration on one patient at a time.
    “I like to put my full attention on each client, and I like seeing someone all the way through from the beginning to the end,” she added.
    The timeframe Henderson works with her clients depends upon the injury and treatment.
     “If both arms are affected, or I am treating two or more body parts, it usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour. If it’s a more simple injury, sessions are usually 30 minutes.”