With Hand Therapy Week less than two weeks away, we hope you'll check out some of the fun initiatives ASHT has planned for our annual celebration of the hand and upper extremity specialty!
What is Hand Therapy Week?
Hand Therapy Week is an integrated national program established by ASHT. Throughout the week, members of the hand and upper extremity therapy community sponsor and organize events and celebrations in an effort to raise awareness among various audiences, highlight the benefits of the specialty and educate the public. Hand Therapy Week is held each year during the first full week of June (beginning on a Monday).
How can I get involved in Hand Therapy Week?
We hope you'll take time to recognize the work you do as hand therapists and join ASHT in celebrating Hand Therapy Week (June 6-12, 2022). There are countless activities you can do to celebrate the work you love, and at the same time, bring awareness and appreciation to the field of hand and upper extremity therapy. Promote the specialty in your clinic and community using some of the ideas here. Or check out some of our 2022 initiatves below. However you celebrate, be sure to share it with us on social media by tagging ASHT and using #HTW2022.
ASHT Photo Contest
Send your hand- and upper extremity-related photos to ASHT@asht.org by May 27, 2022 for the chance to win ASHT prizes and bragging rights. And thanks to this year's sponsor, Naked Prosthetics, the top-three images will receive a wine gift basket (white or red). Please include your name and brief description of the image. Voting will take place on ASHT's Facebook page during Hand Therapy Week. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place.
This contest is open to ASHT members only. Multiple images may be submitted. Limit one prize per person. Winner will be contacted to select gift basket of choice. (If the winner does not want wine, they will receive a gift basket of equal value.) Contest submissions become property of ASHT, and may be used in future marketing materials.
NEW: Daily Challenges
Each year, ASHT sets new daily challenges to make it even easier for you to participate in Hand Therapy Week. We are excited to announce our new daily challenges for Hand Therapy Week 2022! Don't forget to tag ASHT in your posts and use #HTW2022, and we'll feature you on ASHT's website and social media channels!
- MONDAY (6/6): "Bling It" Orthosis — Show off your orthosis creativity, whether something you creatively fabricated or decorated in a fun way.
- TUESDAY (6/7): CHT in the Making — Shoutout someone who exhibits qualities that would make them a wonderful CHT by tagging them in this post, sharing a photo or writing a testimonial.
- WEDNESDAY (6/8): "Nailed It" Challenge — Like Netflix's "Nailed It!," we're looking for "amateur orthosis makers" to try their hand at recreating your custom-made masterpieces. Choose a colleague, friend or family member to talk through making an orthosis. Share your videos and/or photos of the final product!
- THURSDAY (6/9): #ThrowbackThursday — Share your favorite throwback photos, whether it's from a past ASHT Annual Meeting, your first day working in hand and upper extremity therapy, graduation, etc.
- FRIDAY (6/10): Grassroots Effort Day — To celebrate one of our new ASHT awards, we want to see photos, videos, links etc. to all the ways you've spread awareness and advocated for the hand and upper extremity therapy specialty this year! To take it to the next level, nominate yourself or someone else for the new Best Grassroots Efforts Award!
Coming Soon: Mental Health Video Series
ASHT is excited to release a new video series on the impact of upper extremity injury on mental health. The first video of the series will debut June 7.
Be sure to like our Facebook page and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We encourage you to share these videos and the others in our hand and upper extremity safety series with your patients, colleagues and social media followers to promote the specialty.
AHTF Virtual Run/Walk — Join Team ASHT!
Participate in the American Hand Therapy Foundation's 6th Annual Virtual Run/Walk! Complete a 5K run/walk by the end of Hand Therapy Week and support AHTF's research and education grants.
AHTF encourages participants to create teams, and will provide special recognition to teams with the most participants, greatest spirit and greatest amount raised!
To join TeamASHT
Visit this page and click the red "Join this Team" button
- Select the number of registrations, add an optional donation and click "Checkout"
- Be sure to type TeamASHT in the “donating in support of a participant or team” box on the next page
- Enter your contact and payment information on the next page and click "Place Order"
Patient Education Resources
Utilize our vast library of Patient Education Resources, including Spanish translations of our most popular topics. These resources provide information on common diagnoses and the role a hand therapist plays in treatment.
Promote the Specialty
Take advantage of ASHT's hand and upper extremity therapy flyers. Choose from three flyers to use in your clinic as educational resources or distribute to your referral sources — all updated with ASHT's new look! The flyers for surgeons and primary care physicians provide space where you can add contact information for your practice via label, sticker, stamp, etc., and can be used all year round.
Celebrate and Win!
Do you have an event or project planned to promote the hand and upper extremity therapy specialty? Send a photo, video, link or description of your 2022 Hand Therapy Week celebrations to ASHT@asht.org, and you'll be entered to win ASHT prizes, as well as a wine gift basket (white or red) from our sponsor, Naked Prosthetics.
Participants and their submissions will be acknowledged on the ASHT website and social media channels. Contest submissions are due June 24, 2022.
Note: This contest is open to ASHT members only. Multiple entries may be submitted. Limit one prize per person. Winner will be contacted to select their gift basket of choice. (If the winner does not want wine, they will receive a gift basket of equal value.) Contest submissions may be used in future marketing materials.
Share Your Story: Patient Testimonials
Hand and upper extremity therapy can change lives, and who better to share the importance and impact of the specialty than our patients? During Hand Therapy Week — and throughout the year — encourage your outstanding patients to submit a testimonial about the impact hand therapy had on their lives. Visit our Patient Testimonials page, and access the patient and therapist webforms at the bottom of the page to submit your success stories!
Note: Your story may be featured on our website or in upcoming campaigns.
Get Social!
If you're celebrating Hand Therapy Week, we want to know about it!
Share your Hand Therapy Week ideas and photos on our Facebook page.
Use #HTW2022 and mention @HandTherapyASHT in your tweets to interact with ASHT and fellow therapists before and during Hand Therapy Week 2022.
Join your fellow therapists in the ASHT group on LinkedIn.
About Our Sponsor: Naked Prosthetics
It's About Function: Our mission at Naked Prosthetics is to assist finger and partial-hand amputees by positively impacting their lives through providing functional, high-quality finger prostheses to get people back to work and doing the things they love. We offer four functional, high-quality designed finger prostheses. Our custom devices are designed within millimeters of a patient's unique amputation and hand structure. Learn more