We are joined by physical therapists Saurabh Mehta and Christos Karagiannopoulos, who – along with a team of therapists and surgeons – developed a clinical practice guideline for rehabilitation following distal radius fractures. They share with us how a CPG is developed, how the evidence is synthesized and how they came to their conclusions based on the evidence to provide recommendations for evaluation, interventions and prognosis.  

Guest Bios: 

Dr. Karagiannopoulos is a full-time associate professor at DeSales University DPT program with a current line of research on the assessment and management of wrist sensorimotor control impairment. He has earned a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology from Temple University. His master’s in physical therapy was earned from MCP-Hahnemann University (Drexel University) in 1999. Christos has dedicated his 20+ years clinical practice in orthopedic physical therapy and the rehabilitation of the upper extremity as a Certified Hand Therapist. He has dedicated his clinical research line on the wrist sensorimotor control impairment, developing the active wrist joint position sense test and its psychometric properties. Dr. Karagiannopoulos has published his most recent research work in the Journal of Hand Therapy, and he co-authored the most recent 2024 APTA Clinical Practice Guidelines on distal radius fracture rehabilitation in the JOSPT. He has also co-authored the 2020 AAOS Clinical Practice Guidelines for distal radius fracture management. Dr. Karagiannopoulos has lectured at various local, national, and international symposiums. He currently serves on the APTA Academy of Hand & Upper Extremity as a program co-chair and a member of the research committee. He is also a member of the Journal of Hand Therapy editorial board.

Dr. Mehta is a board-certified specialist in geriatric physical therapy and the Director of Research for the College of Health Sciences at East Tennessee State University. He has collaborated and published multiple data-based articles and systematic reviews in upper extremity rehabilitation, healthy aging, and improving physical functions in the elderly. Dr. Mehta recently led the efforts to develop ICF-based clinical practice guidelines for the rehabilitation of distal radius fractures. He is the chair of the Aging Research and Geriatric Rehabilitation Networking Group of the American College of Rehabilitation Medicine