Hand Arthritis Therapy

Stiff, achy hands don't have to be your new normal — therapy can make a meaningful difference in how your hands feel and function.

Arthritis in the hand can take different forms — osteoarthritis from cartilage breakdown over time, rheumatoid arthritis from an immune response attacking the joints, or post-traumatic arthritis that develops after an old injury. The most common areas affected in the hand are the thumb CMC joint at the base of the thumb, the finger PIP joints, and the wrist. Each type has different patterns, but they all share the common thread of pain, stiffness, and loss of the hand function you've always taken for granted.

What is hand arthritis?

Arthritis doesn't mean you have to stop doing what you love. Many of our patients come in having been told 'you just have to live with it' — and while we can't reverse joint changes, the right therapy can significantly reduce pain, improve strength and mobility, and help you adapt so the condition interferes with your life as little as possible. The key is working with someone who understands the hand specifically, not just joints generally.

Close-up of elderly hands showing the joint changes and texture associated with hand arthritis
Senior adult hands at rest, showing the characteristic texture and stiffness of arthritic joints

Who comes to us for hand arthritis?

We see patients with early-stage CMC arthritis who are starting to notice pain with pinching and jar-opening, and patients with advanced RA whose hands need careful management to maintain what function they have. We see post-surgical patients after thumb CMC arthroplasty and joint fusion, and patients who've been managing osteoarthritis for years and want to do it more effectively. If your hands are limiting you — in the kitchen, at work, or in your hobbies — there's almost always something we can do.

How do we treat it at Reach Beyond Therapy?

At Reach Beyond Therapy, every session is one-on-one — just you and your therapist, no aides, no rushing, no shortened sessions, and no shared appointments with other clients. For arthritis, treatment is deeply individualized — the same diagnosis looks very different in different hands. We might fabricate a custom resting splint or a functional CMC splint for the thumb, work through joint protection techniques and adaptive strategies that take pressure off the most affected joints, and build a gentle strengthening program that supports without overloading. We also spend time understanding what your hands mean to you — what you want to be able to do — and we build toward that.

Living with hand arthritis and not sure what's possible?

Book a free discovery consult. We'll assess what we're working with and show you what a difference the right therapy approach can make.

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Serving the South Bay

You Don't Have to Just Live With Arthritic Hands.

Reach Beyond Therapy proudly serves Redondo Beach, Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, and Palos Verdes with expert hand therapy, custom splinting, and post-operative rehabilitation by a Certified Hand Therapist with over 10 years of experience.

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