Starts visit one
Pain
Bring the swelling down.
Gentle edema control and a splint molded to protect the healing bone while it still needs protecting.
What We Treat
Finger, wrist and elbow fracture recovery in Vancouver, WA.
The bone healed. Nobody told you the joint would forget how to move while it waited. That stiffness is not permanent, it is just untrained, and untraining it is the whole job.
Sound Familiar?
Does this sound like your hand or arm since the cast came off?
- A joint that will not bend as far as the one on your other side
- Swelling that pools at the end of the day and never fully drains overnight
- Skin around the old cast line that is tight, shiny or oddly sensitive to touch
- A grip that gives out well before the muscle feels tired
- Guarding the arm without meaning to, tucking it in on the couch or in a crowd
- Being told by X-ray that the bone is healed, while the arm still does not agree
Two or more? Keep reading.
Why It Happens
The bone healed on its own schedule. The joint did not get the memo.
A fracture in the finger, wrist or elbow usually spends weeks immobilized so the bone can knit back together. That is the right call for the bone. It is also exactly the wrong environment for everything around it. Tendons glue themselves to nearby tissue when they are not sliding. Joint capsules tighten when they are not stretched. Muscle quietly loses the strength it is not using. None of that shows up on the X-ray that clears you, because the X-ray is only checking the bone.
That is the part fracture rehab exists to fix. We are not questioning your surgeon or your healing bone. We are addressing everything the cast, sling or splint put on hold around it: motion, swelling, grip and the scar tissue holding all three back. Skip that step and a fracture that healed perfectly can still leave you with a joint that never gets its full range back.
The Honest Truth
A stiff joint does not loosen up on its own.
If you keep waiting
- Scar tissue around the healed bone finishes settling into its tightest shape
- The muscle you stopped using keeps thinning, and thin muscle is slow to rebuild
- You keep guarding the arm out of habit long after the bone has caught up
If you start this week
- You leave visit one knowing exactly which motion and which tissue you are chasing
- A protective splint fabricated and remolded here as the swelling changes shape
- A plan with an endpoint: you always know which phase you are in and what is left
Nobody regrets starting too early. Read our reviews and you will find people who wish they had come in sooner.
How We Fix It
Four phases. Built for a joint that came out of a cast.
Every plan has an endpoint. Here is what the four phases look like for fracture recovery.
Once swelling settles
Prime
Win the motion back.
Hands-on work breaks up the scar tissue holding the joint short, one degree of motion at a time.
Once the motion holds
Perform
Rebuild the strength that thinned out.
Graded loading for grip and forearm strength, so the healed bone has muscle around it worth trusting again.
Before discharge
Prevent
Stop guarding it.
We test the arm against what your job and your life actually ask of it, so you stop babying a bone that has already healed.
People living in the Pacific Northwest are indeed fortunate to have the expertise of Gabbert Clinic for serious and extensive hand and occupational therapy. The clinic is staffed with highly educated and skilled professionals, they are very effective at what they do. I am unaware of any other specialized clinic for the hands in our area. The clinic's therapists are extremely knowledgeable. They apply that knowledge to bring about amazing, tangible results with the latest in effective methodology and tools. Doctor Erin Wos, Sports Medicine Physician, from The Vancouver Clinic, recommended Gabbert Clinic for hand therapy following the period of healing of a broken bone and torn ligaments in and around the wrist and thumb area of the hand. Despite healing of the bone and removal of the cast, movement of the thumb and associated area was very painful due tears in the ligaments. It was so painful that the thump could not be used without severe pain. After just a few therapy sessions (each session under one hour), progress was made in both the significant reduction of pain and a significant increase in mobility of the thumb and surrounding area of the hand. Clearly, living with severe pain and significant reduction in the usefulness on one's hand is dreadful and debilitating. The healing effect of the Gabbert Clinic's therapeutic expertise with hands is simply amazing, I highly recommend the clinic to anyone seeking relief from physical/medical issues with their hands. It will be my pleasure to respond to questions concerning this recommendation, the experience with the staff, Amy Gabbert herself, and the amazing results achieved at the Gabbert Clinic.
Shared by Ed G. · Wrist fracture
Where you start: a cast off and a joint that will not bend
Where the plan ends: full motion and a grip you trust again
Fractures
Pain to Prevent
Questions, Answered
What people ask before booking for a fracture.
Your doctor is checking the bone, and that check can come back clean while the joint, tendons and muscle around it are still stiff, weak or scarred down from weeks in a cast or splint. Fracture rehab is the step that addresses that second part. It is not a disagreement with your doctor, it is the next step after them.
That depends on the fracture, how it was treated and how long the joint was immobilized, so we tell you after your evaluation, not before. What is true for almost everyone is that the earlier you start moving a healed joint, the more of that motion comes back. Waiting rarely helps and often costs you range you have to fight harder to win back later.
That depends on what the evaluation finds, so we tell you after we look, not before. What you get either way is a plan with an endpoint. You will know which of the four phases you are in, Pain, Prime, Perform or Prevent, and what is left before you are done. No open tab of appointments.
Book Your Visit
Ready when you are.
Request a time and a real person from our front desk calls you back to get you scheduled. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.
- Hours Mon–Fri 7:00am–5:00pm · Sat–Sun closed
- (360) 989-1200 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
- One-on-one with a licensed Occupational Therapist, every visit
5.0 · 146 Google reviews
Your request goes straight to our front desk
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Request sent.
That’s the hard part done. We’ll call during clinic hours to get you on the schedule and tell you what to bring.
Visit Us
Care this good, this close.
Gabbert Clinic
- 7710 NE Greenwood Dr # 150, Vancouver, WA 98662
- (360) 989-1200
- Fax: (360) 583-3442
- admin@gabbertclinic.com
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Mon–Fri 7:00am–5:00pm
Sat–Sun closed