Dec 24, 2002 3 min read

CHICAGO, Ill. – NFL Hall-of-Famer Don Shula says hand therapy saved his golf game and helped him fully recover from surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome three years ago. “I had problems gripping my golf clubs and closing my hand. They diagnosed it as Carpal Tunnel, and I had surgery on it a few weeks later. I was really concerned as to whether or not I could come back and do the things I had done before the surgery. So, I went to a hand therapist and she did a wonderful job with my rehab until I was able to have full use of my hand again and get my strength back,” said Shula, the former coach of the Miami Dolphins.

“I could see the improvement week in and week out until I was finally able to grip a golf club like I had before the Carpal Tunnel,” he said. “I was able to swing the golf clubs and get back to my normal routine.”

Shula talks about his hand therapy in The American Society of Hand Therapists’ (ASHT) new Public Education and Awareness Video, which explains the specialization of the hand therapy profession.

“Hand therapy is for everybody. When you can’t fully use one of your hands, it takes away a lot of the things you take for granted,” Shula said. “I continue to do a lot of the hand therapy exercises with both hands now to maintain strength and avoid getting the Carpal Tunnel back.”

The ASHT Public Education and Awareness video also highlights hand therapy’s critical role in providing the best treatment for many types of injuries.

“The specialized treatment offered by professional hand therapists serves patients suffering from sports, ergonomic, and arthritis-related injuries and is preventive, as well as addressing injury and trauma to the neck through the hand,” said Ginger Clark, ASHT president. “Our patients span a variety of professions from factory workers to office professionals, firemen and police officers and many professional athletes.”

“The most important thing after surgery was to have the proper rehab,” Shula said. “If you want to strengthen the hands and the arms, you want to bring in a specialist in this field who knows the proper exercises and treatment.”

The American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) is a non-profit organization with the goal to advance the specialty of hand therapy through communication, education, research and the establishment of clinical standards. ASHT’s 2,700 members in the United States, Canada and around the world strive to be recognized leaders in the hand therapy profession. Log on to the ASHT web site at http://www.ASHT.org for more information.

For a VHS copy of the American Society of Hand Therapists’ Public Education and Awareness Video, featuring Don Shula, contact Sarah Allen, the MWW Group, 312-853-3131.