040: Rehab Following Nerve Transfer with Jen Dodson, OTD, OTR/L, CHT

Supercharged and ready for rehab! Are you working with a brachial plexus patient that had a nerve transfer? Well, listen up, this is the podcast for you!

Jen Dodson joins the Hand to Shoulder podcast team to discuss rehabilitation theories and principles as well as a timeline of what to expect.

Jen is a part of a qualitative research study involving rehabilitation processes with outcomes. We hope you enjoy listening to Jen as she educates us on rehabilitation following nerve transfer.

 

Articles she refers to in the podcast episode include:

Hill, J.L., Turner, L.C., Jone, R.D., Jimulia, D. T., Miller, C., & Power, D.M. (2019). The stages of rehabilitation following motor nerve transfer surgery. Journal of Musculoskeletal Surgery and Research, 3, 60.

*Link to Hill’s et. al. 2019 article: https://journalmsr.com/the-stages-of-rehabilitation-following-motor-nerve-transfer-surgery/

Kahn, L. & Moore, A. (2016). Donor Activation Focused Rehabilitation Approach: Maximizing Outcomes After Nerve Transfers. Hand Clinics, 32, 263-277.

Sturma, A., Hruby, L., Farina, D., & Aszmann, O. (2019). Structured Motor Rehabilitation After Select Nerve Transfers. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 150, e58440, doi: 10.3791/59840. 

Larocerie-Salgado, J., Chinchalkar, S., Ross, D.C., Gillis, J., Doherty, C.D., & Miller, T.A. (2021). Rehabilitation Following Nerve Transfer Surgery. Techniques in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery, 26(2), 71-77.

 

Jennifer "Jen" Dodson has been an Occupational Therapist since 1998, a Certified Hand Therapist since 2004, and is fellowship-trained from the Philadelphia Hand Center in 2002. She received her Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate from Jefferson University (Formerly Thomas Jefferson) in 2021 along with an Advance Practice Certificate in "Teaching in the Digital Age". Jen spent the majority of her career at a level-one trauma center (16 years) where she served as a clinical specialist. She had the opportunity to start a hand therapy program there and educate various stakeholders on the distinct role CHTs play throughout the continuum of care.

 

Jen has been a strong advocate for the profession and specialty of hand therapy by serving on the ASHT education council, lecturing on various topics of the upper extremity across the US and Canada as an invited speaker for state and national conferences, served as adjunct faculty, contributed to book chapters, performed curriculum development, and owned her own continuing education business specializing in upper extremity rehabilitation courses. She is currently employed at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, NC, where she serves as a clinical specialist, coordinates student placement, is an instructor in their AOTA-approved hand therapy fellowship, and is the CHT who works with the surgeons in brachial plexus clinic. She is passionate about serving those who have sustained the most complex traumatic upper extremity injuries and athletes of all levels.

She can be reached at:  [e-mail].