On this episode, we are joined by April O’Connell to discuss exercise dosing for patients who have sustained injuries of their upper extremity. She shares with us factors that should be considered when designing an exercise program for a patient and how to progress them through their plan of care to achieve their goals and beyond. 

Guest Bio: April O’Connell, OTR/L, CHT, ACSM, is an occupational therapist at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills, CA. She works with a variety of sports teams including the NFL, MLB and NBA and recently spoke at ASHT and AAHT on Rehabilitation of the Overhead Athlete. She is one of the main contributors to the fellowship program for hand and upper extremity rehabilitation as well as the co-director for Cedars Sinai Hand Symposium. 

April got her start as the Clinical Specialist in the Hand and Upper Extremity Therapy Department at NYU Langone Health. She has lectured to orthopedic surgeons and therapists nationally and internationally in current concepts of orthopedic rehabilitation of the upper extremity. Some of her most recent lectures include being a guest speaker for Dr. Radio on Sirius Satellite on topics for rehabilitation of the hand and upper extremity as well as injuries to the overhead athlete. In addition, she has presented on Flexor Tendon Repair Advancement at AAOS in 2015 and was later asked to speak at the ASSH national conference in 2016 and ASHT in 2017. She recently presented her latest research at the ASHT National Conference on flexor tendon rehabilitation in 2019. 

April is a founding member of the NYU Langone Golf and Pitching Labs and was the head hand therapist for the first successful bilateral hand and face allotransplantation. She earned her Occupational Therapy degree at Boston University, is a Certified Hand Therapist and is certified by the American Council of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as a Clinical Exercise Specialist.

The views and opinions expressed in the Hands in Motion podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ASHT. Appearance on the podcast does not imply endorsement of any products, services or viewpoints discussed.