01
Cast or splint · Protection
Protecting the repair
The cast or splint protects the fracture or repair. From the start we move the fingers and joints your surgeon allows, with the hand raised, and keep the swelling under control.
Hand & wrist · Tseri, Nicosia
Hand and Wrist Physiotherapy
For fractures and surgery of the hand and wrist, and for pain or numbness that will not settle. Your rehab is led by a physiotherapist on our team with 9 years’ experience in hand therapy, following your surgeon’s instructions.
- 9 years’ hand therapy experience
- GESY-registered clinic
- Strovolou 51, Tseri
01 · The approach
The hand needs precision and the right timing
The hand and wrist have small joints, tendons that glide past each other and nerves that run through tight spaces. After a fracture or surgery, a few weeks without movement are enough for the fingers to stiffen, while a rushed exercise can strain a repair that has not healed yet.
That is why hand rehabilitation at AlexPhysio is led by a physiotherapist on our team with 9 years’ experience in hand therapy: fractures, tendon repairs, nerve injuries, finger amputations, wrist and finger surgery. We work to your surgeon’s protocol: what may move, when, and with how much load.
Bring your surgeon’s written protocol
Especially after a tendon repair, your surgeon’s protocol sets out what is allowed each week. If you were not given it in writing, ask for it before your first session.
02 · After surgery
The 4 stages of rehabilitation
Every operation has its own timeline, but recovery almost always follows the same order: first we protect, then we move, then we strengthen.
02
After the cast · Movement
Wrist and finger range of motion
Once the cast is off, or your surgeon allows it, we work on wrist and finger movement, scar care and tendon gliding. Some stiffness at first is expected.
03
With your surgeon’s approval · Strength
Grip strength and stability
Grip and pinch strength, wrist stability and fine finger movements. The load goes up gradually, in line with healing.
04
Final stage · Return
Work, driving, sport
Exercises that match what you need in daily life: typing, tools, driving, sport. We move on when your hand is ready and your surgeon agrees.
Realistic expectations
After a wrist (distal radius) fracture, it usually takes about 3 months before you can use your wrist for all activities, and full recovery can take up to a year. After carpal tunnel release, grip strength usually returns in 2 to 3 months.
Timelines are indicative and vary by operation and patient. If your surgeon has given you different instructions, theirs apply, and we follow them too.
03 · What we treat
Fractures, surgery and conditions of the hand
And anything else involving the hand: wrist sprains, stiffness after immobilisation, arthritis at the base of the thumb.
Scaphoid fracture
In a cast or after fixation with a screw. The scaphoid has a poor blood supply and heals slowly: a cast or splint may be needed for up to 6 months. So load comes back gradually, once your doctor confirms the bone has healed.
Cast or screwWrist (distal radius) fracture
The most commonly broken bone in the arm. After the cast or plate we work on movement, swelling and grip strength.
Cast or plateFinger and metacarpal fractures
With a splint, buddy taping to the next finger, or pins, screws or a plate. The splint usually stays on for about 3 weeks, and the finger is often stiff afterwards. We start movement as soon as your doctor allows it.
Splint, pins or plateCarpal tunnel syndrome
Conservatively, with a night splint, changes to the movements that aggravate it and median nerve gliding exercises, or after surgical release.
Conservative or after surgeryDe Quervain’s tenosynovitis
Pain on the thumb side of the wrist. A splint, avoiding the movements that hurt and gradual strengthening, before or after surgery.
Conservative or after surgeryTrigger finger
Before and after surgical release: movement from day one, swelling, stiffness. The incision heals in a few weeks, but swelling and stiffness can take 4 to 6 months to settle completely.
Before and after surgeryTendon repairs
Flexor and extensor tendons. Physiotherapy starts a few days after surgery, with exercises that protect the repair but keep the tendon gliding. After a flexor tendon repair the splint usually stays on for 6 to 8 weeks, and the tendon needs 3 to 4 months before unrestricted use.
From the first daysNerve injuries
After a nerve injury or repair in the hand and fingers. Nerves regrow slowly, about 2.5 cm (1 inch) a month: when the injury is higher up the arm, feeling may take up to a year to reach the fingertips. Until then we keep the joints supple, teach you to protect skin that has no feeling and, as the nerve recovers, retrain sensation and movement.
Nerve injury or repairFinger amputations
After amputation of a finger or part of the hand: swelling control, scar care, desensitising a tip that is painful to touch or cold, moving the remaining fingers, and grips for work and daily life. Full recovery usually takes several months.
After injury or surgeryCall your doctor straight away if you notice:
- Pain that keeps increasing and does not ease with painkillers.
- Numb, pale or bluish fingers, fingers you cannot move, or a cast that feels tighter and tighter.
- Redness, warmth or fluid from the wound, or a fever.
- After a tendon repair, a finger that suddenly will not bend or straighten as before.
- Severe, widespread pain out of proportion to the injury, with swelling or changes in skin colour or temperature.
04 · In your sessions
What physiotherapy includes
The programme is tailored to your operation and stage of healing. These are the main tools.
Swelling control
Elevation, movement and techniques that reduce swelling. A swollen hand loses movement faster.
From session 1Wrist and finger movement
Range-of-motion exercises, assisted and active, for every joint that is allowed to move.
From the early stagesTendon and nerve gliding
Specific exercises that help tendons and nerves move freely: after tendon repairs, for carpal tunnel and after fractures.
Tendons · NervesScar and sensitivity
Once the wound has closed: scar massage, desensitisation when the hand is painful to touch, and sensory re-education after a nerve injury.
After the stitchesStrength and dexterity
Grip and pinch strength and fine movements: buttons, writing, typing, the tools of your trade.
With your surgeon’s approvalHome programme
The hand needs small, frequent doses of movement through the day. We give you home exercises and adjust them at every session.
Every day05 · Dos and don’ts
What helps and what to avoid
Small habits at home make a big difference to swelling and stiffness.
✓ Do
- Keep your hand raised above the level of your heart in the first days, to reduce swelling.
- Move the fingers and joints your surgeon allows often, a little at a time.
- Wear your splint exactly as your surgeon told you, including at night if they asked you to.
- Keep the cast and wound dry until your doctor tells you otherwise.
- Bring every new written instruction from your surgeon to your sessions.
✗ Don’t
- Don’t lift any weight with the operated hand before your surgeon allows it.
- Don’t take the splint off without instruction, not even “for a bit”.
- Don’t force movement through sharp pain.
- Don’t push anything inside the cast to scratch.
- Don’t copy exercises from videos online: every operation has its own protocol.
06 · GESY
Hand physiotherapy with GESY
We are a GESY-registered clinic. With a referral from your doctor, physiotherapy is covered with a €10 co-payment per session. How many sessions are covered depends on your referral.
€10per session
Co-payment
What you pay for each GESY session.
45minutes
Minutes each
Each GESY physiotherapy session lasts 45 minutes.
1stsession
Assessment
At your first session we assess your hand and tell you how many sessions we expect you to need.
If you need more sessions
After a fracture or tendon repair, rehab often takes months. If the sessions on your referral are not enough, we tell you early, so we can decide together how to continue.
Without a referral
You can also book privately, directly, without a referral. Ask us about the cost when you book.
07 · FAQ
What our patients ask
When does physiotherapy start after hand surgery?
It depends on the operation. After a tendon repair it usually starts a few days after surgery. After a wrist fracture it starts a few days to weeks after surgery, or as soon as your last cast comes off. The fingers are moved early, as far as your surgeon allows.
When does strength come back after carpal tunnel surgery?
Grip and pinch strength usually return in 2 to 3 months. Numbness improves gradually over the first months and, if the nerve was severely compressed, can take 6 to 12 months. Complete recovery can take up to a year.
How long does a nerve take to recover?
Nerves regrow slowly, about 2.5 cm (1 inch) a month, depending on age and other factors. When the injury is higher up the arm, feeling may take up to a year to return to the fingertips. Pins and needles in the fingertips during recovery is usually a sign that the nerve is coming back.
How long does rehabilitation take?
It varies a lot. After trigger finger release the incision heals in a few weeks, but swelling and stiffness can take 4 to 6 months. After a wrist fracture it takes about 3 months before you can do all your activities. The scaphoid heals slowly and may need a cast or splint for up to 6 months. At your first assessment we give you an estimate for your own case.
Do you make splints?
No. Your splint or cast is usually provided by your surgeon or the hospital. We plan your programme around it, and if the splint presses or does not fit well, we tell you to contact your surgeon.
Do I need a referral?
For GESY cover, yes, from your doctor. Privately, you can book directly without a referral.
How much does hand physiotherapy cost with GESY?
With a referral you pay a €10 co-payment per session. How many sessions are covered depends on your referral.
Where is the clinic?
At Strovolou 51, Tseri 2480, Nicosia, on the ground floor with a street-level entrance. We are close to Lakatamia, Strovolos, Dali and Latsia.
Book an appointment
Start your rehab at the right time
Call us or send a message with your problem or operation. If you already have a surgery date, book your first session now.
9 years’ hand therapy experience
Hand rehabilitation is led by a physiotherapist on our team with 9 years’ experience in fractures, tendon repairs, nerve injuries, finger amputations and hand surgery.
For surgeons
We accept referrals, follow your protocol and update you in writing on your patient’s progress, at alexphysioltd@gmail.com.
GESY-registered
With a referral, a €10 co-payment per session.
Team of 8 physiotherapists in Tseri
Strovolou 51, close to Lakatamia, Strovolos, Dali and Latsia.
AlexPhysio
Phone96 666 081
WhatsAppSend a message
ParkingGround floor, street-level entrance. Parking around the clinic, underground or at ParkinTown (give reception your registration number).
HoursMon, Thu: 09:15–19:15
Tue: 09:15–18:30
Wed: 09:00–18:30
Fri: 09:15–17:00
Tue: 09:15–18:30
Wed: 09:00–18:30
Fri: 09:15–17:00
Reviews★ 5.0 on Google
Bring to your first appointment
- Your operation note or X-rays
- Your surgeon’s written protocol (essential after a tendon repair)
- The splint you were given
- Your GESY referral, if you have one