Intermediate Wrist and Hand Tendon Repair Rehabilitation

Program Overview This is an intermediate, 22-week rehabilitation guide for recovery after wrist and hand tendon repair. It combines gentle movement, hands-on therapy, splinting, electrical stimulation, and heat/ice to help you safely regain motion, strength, and hand function. You will work about 20 minutes per session, four times a week, with your clinician guiding and adjusting the plan as you progress.

Who This Is For and the Goal This program suits people recovering from a repaired wrist or hand tendon who have moved past the earliest protective stage and are ready for guided, moderate-level rehab. The goal is to gradually restore mobility, grip, and hand coordination while protecting the repair. Progress is individual, and your clinician decides how fast you advance based on how you respond.

Before You Start Begin only after your clinician has cleared you for this level of activity. Have your splint fitted and checked, learn your activity limits, and make sure you understand which exercises are allowed now and which are not yet. Bring your equipment — light dumbbell, foam roller, and therapy putty — and set up a comfortable seated space.

Safety Notes and When to Stop Do not start or continue if there are signs of infection, a wound that has reopened, sudden swelling and heat suggesting flare-up, or if the repair feels unstable — your clinician must assess these first. Stop exercise if pain increases, numbness or tingling worsens, or you feel a sudden pop or loss of movement. Call your clinician promptly with these changes, and seek urgent care for spreading redness, fever, or drainage.

Weekly Structure The 22 weeks are grouped into four phases that build from protection toward confident strengthening. Each week has four sessions of about 20 minutes, using your dumbbell, foam roller, and putty. Early phases focus on gentle motion and swelling control; later phases add steady resistance and finer hand control. Your clinician moves you forward only when you meet the criteria for the current phase.

How the Plan Is Organized You will complete four short sessions each week for 22 weeks, about 20 minutes each, using a light dumbbell, foam roller, and therapy putty. The plan moves through protection, early motion, protected strengthening, and progressive strengthening phases. Expect splinting early on, hands-on therapy, gentle electrical stimulation for muscle re-education, heat before exercise, and ice afterward. Progress is gradual, not a race.

What a Typical Session Looks Like Each session follows a simple pattern: warm up, do your main exercises, then cool down. Your clinician adjusts the details to your phase and how you feel that day.

Warm-Up, Main Work, and Cool-Down Start with heat and gentle foam-roller or hand movements to prepare tissues. Your main work may include tendon glides, nerve glides, soft tissue and joint mobilization, and progressive resistance with putty or a light dumbbell, plus electrical stimulation if prescribed. Cool down with gentle motion and ice afterward as advised. Keep effort comfortable and stop if pain rises.

Tracking Progress Keep a simple log of each session: what you did, pain level, swelling, and any new symptoms. Your clinician will regularly measure grip strength, wrist motion, hand dexterity, sensation, and how your hand feels in daily tasks using standard questionnaires. These records show trends over time and guide decisions about your program.

How Progression Works Your clinician uses the phase criteria — such as reaching certain motion, strength, and comfort milestones — to decide when you move forward, rather than calendar dates alone. Outcome measures like grip strength, motion, and symptom questionnaires are compared over time to confirm you are ready. If criteria are not met, you stay in the current phase and keep building safely.

Recovery and Self-Care Follow your splint schedule, keep the incision clean and dry as instructed, and elevate the hand to manage swelling. Use heat before exercise and ice after, and pace activities so you do not overdo it. Rest between sessions, keep the hand supported during heavier tasks, and ask your clinician before adding any new activity.

Pain, Rest, and Red Flags Some mild, brief discomfort with exercise can be normal, but stop if pain clearly increases and tell your clinician. Avoid heavy lifting, gripping, or pushing through sharp pain. Seek urgent care for fever, spreading redness, wound opening, heavy drainage, sudden loss of movement, or severe unexplained pain — these need prompt medical review.