Intermediate Wrist and Hand Tendon Repair Program

Program Overview — Intermediate Wrist and Hand Tendon Repair (4 Weeks)

This program is for people recovering from a wrist or hand tendon repair who are past the earliest healing stage and ready for guided, progressive movement. Over four weeks you will work on gentle motion, controlled strengthening, and everyday hand function, aiming to restore comfortable movement, grip, and confidence in using your hand again. It is not a substitute for your surgeon's or therapist's individualized instructions.

Before You Start

Always warm up before and cool down after sessions, and never push into sharp pain or overload the healing tissue. Stop and contact your clinician if you notice the wound opening or separating, increasing redness, warmth, drainage, spreading pain, new numbness or tingling, or sudden loss of movement. Skip any exercise that strains the repair. Your therapy team will confirm your starting point and adjust the plan.

Weekly Structure

Plan for five sessions a week, about thirty minutes each, using a foam roller, a kettlebell, and a hand exerciser. Week one focuses on protection and early gentle motion, week two adds controlled movement, week three builds strength, and week four advances strengthening and everyday functional tasks. Your clinician will tell you when each phase applies to you. Progress only as your comfort and control allow.

What a Typical Session Looks Like

Begin with a warm-up: light foam-roller work on the forearm above the wrist (never directly on the healing area) and easy, pain-free hand movements. The main work combines prescribed modalities, gentle range-of-motion and tendon-gliding drills, and graded resistance using the hand exerciser or kettlebell only as your clinician directs. Finish with a cool-down of slow stretching and elevation, keeping everything within your comfort zone.

Tracking Progress

Your clinician uses the phase criteria as guideposts, not deadlines: movements, grip and pinch strength, swelling, and pain comfort guide when you move to the next phase. Outcome measures such as grip strength, wrist range of motion, pinch grip, the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire, pain scores, and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire are repeated to show change over time. Numbers alone don't decide your progress—how your hand feels and functions matters too.

Recovery and Self-Care

Manage pain with rest, elevation, and compression wrapping as advised, and avoid overloading the wrist. Keep the wound clean and protected, and follow your care team's instructions on activity and lifting. Watch for red flags such as wound opening, fever, spreading redness, or worsening numbness, and report them promptly. Sleep, hydration, and pacing your day support healing.