The Hand to Shoulder Podcast

Our 50th podcast episode!!Sit up tall, stand up straight? Don’t you feel like a squeaky wheel with your shoulder and thoracic outlet patients? Join Ann, Cassie and Joan Vicente as we comb through cutting-edge research regarding the relationship between the thoracic spine and shoulder. Joan discusses physical performance between symptomatic and asymptomatic adults including posture and mobility in relationship to t-spine rotation and shoulder movement. Here’s a little bit about our guest! Joan Vicente, PT, DPT, PhD, is a Board-Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist and a fellowship-trained Movement System practitioner. She earned her physical therapy degree in the Philippines in 2004 and completed her PhD in Health Sciences with a concentration in Orthopedic and Sports Science at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in 2025. Her research focuses on the thoracic spine and its role in movement and function throughout the body.Dr. Vicente serves as a Rehab Clinical Educator at UCLA Health and as adjunct faculty at Hawaii Pacific University, where she teaches musculoskeletal and movement science coursework. She previously mentored clinicians in the Movement System Clinical Fellowship at Washington University and continues to teach courses on Movement System Syndromes.She is actively involved in national and state professional leadership. She serves on the APTA Frontiers in Rehabilitation Science and Research and Technology (FiRST) Steering Group, is a mentee in the APTA Orthopedics Mentorship Program, and is part of the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education Onsite Review Committee. At the state level, Dr. Vicente contributes to the California PT Association (CPTA) Continuing Education Review Committee and Research Council. Joan can be reached at: E-mail address: [email protected]

As spring approaches, our patients are excited to return to some of their long-awaited outdoor activities! Today we are joined by Ryerson Stinson, a hand therapist and golf expert from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland as he discusses the importance of individualizing programs for patients as they return to their sport.Here's a little background about our guest!: Ryerson is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) who holds multiple advanced specialty certifications, including TPI M3, SFMA Level 2, and KVEST 3D. His clinical expertise spans hand and upper extremity rehabilitation, sports performance, and motion analysis. He has served as a guest lecturer and presenter for occupational therapy programs at Quinnipiac University and Iona College, and has presented nationally at conferences including the ASHT annual meeting, Georgia Hand and Upper Extremity Special Interest Group(GHUESIG), and APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM).At Johns Hopkins, Ryerson is a Clinical Specialist andfaculty member for both the Hand Therapy Fellowship Program and the Physical Therapy Orthopedic Residency Program. He also serves as a lead clinical instructor for the Johns Hopkins Hospital Orthopedic Certification Program.Ryerson is also the director of the new Johns Hopkins GolfRehabilitation/Performance Program.Beyond his clinical role, Ryerson is the founder ofOutPerform Golf LLC, a sports performance consulting company. Through this work, he frequently travels to golf performance facilities to evaluate athletes and collaborates on golf- and athlete-specific technology research and product development.An accomplished competitive golfer, Ryerson continues to compete as a mid-amateur, qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and winning the 2019 Southern Maryland Amateur. He enjoys skiing in the winter months with his wife, Jillian. Originally from Hanover, New Hampshire, Ryerson was a three-sport varsity athlete in golf, hockey, and lacrosse, and was recognized as an academic All-American.How to reach Ryerson:Clinical/Johns Hopkins: [email protected] Consulting/Sports Performance: [email protected] Linkedin:linkedin.com 

Mike Lennie, OTR/L, ATC, CHT has an undergraduate degreeand certification in Athletic Training from Southern Illinois University. Rehabilitating overhead athletes with the baseball and softball programs drove his interest to pursue a career in rehab for the UE. In 2011, he graduated from Midwestern University with his OT degree and has been working as an orthopedic OT since that time. He became a CHT in 2018. Currently he works as an OT coordinator @ Illinois Bone & Joint in the western suburbs of Chicago focusing most of his time on patient care and clinical education.Link to the following free full text articles Mikediscussed during the episode: Data-basedinterval throwing programs for baseball players - PubMedData-BasedInterval Throwing Programs for Collegiate Softball Players - PubMedMike can be reached at: LinkedIn:  Michael Lennie OTR/L, ATC, CHTInstagram:  UpperExtremityRehabEmail:  [email protected]

Hand therapy isn’t limited to the outpatient setting—many patients begin their recovery in the hospital. Join us as we interview Adrienne Tesarek, OTR/L, CHT from San Diego, CA, who began her career working in the acute care environment then became a CHT in an outpatient setting.  Adrienneshares her insights on working with patients during the early stages of recovery and highlights the key elements needed to prepare them for a successful transition to outpatient care. She also discusses the course she developed to help acute-care therapists sharpen their clinical problem-solving skills and better support hand therapy patients as they move from hospital to home and beyond.Adrienne Tesarek is a graduate of Louisiana StateUniversity in New Orleans, Louisiana and moved to California after graduation. Her career started at UCSD Medical Center which was the first Level I trauma center in the area. She was an inpatient therapist before transitioning to the outpatient department where she mentored to sit for the hand exam. She became a CHT in 2005. Since that time, she has done teaching at Grossmont Community College in their OTA program and presented at OT conferences on custom orthotic fabrication and conservative management of thumb CMC OA and conservative management of carpal tunnel syndrome. In 2013 she moved to Los Angeles to work at UCLA and was a member of the Rehab Services Education Committee coordinatingcontinuing education for her fellow OT’s. Also, during her time in Los Angeles, she joined the non-profit Hand Therapy Society of Greater Los Angeles, serving as their secretary and is currently the president. She moved back to San Diegoin 2021 and currently works for Palomar Health in Poway, CA.  She has taken the position of president of the San Diego Hand Special Interest Group and formed a new education committee at Palomar Health. She is currently gathering information on post-op complications following distal radius fractures for a study she is conducting as well as teaching a course on RehabEd on Managing acute hand injuries.Adrienne is married and has 2 Greyhounds who have beenrescued from a racetrack that closed in neighboring Tijuana Mexico. She enjoys yoga, being outdoors and traveling. Contact via- LinkedIn and email address: [email protected] 

“The long bone is connected to the short bone”, remembersinging that song? Well, it’s true in our everyday life! Everything is connected and should be addressed when seeing as hand therapy patient. Mike Mueller, OTR, CHT joins us from Rothman Orthopaedics from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania to discuss the kinetic chain with an upper extremity hand patient and how looking at the whole picture will change the outcome. Mike elaborates on his care with professional athletes and how connecting the kinetic chain early on will improve performance and function. Please join us as we talk with Mike on “Addressing the Kinetic Chain in Your Hand Therapy Patient”. A little bit about Mike:Mike Mueller OTR, CHT is a staff hand therapist at RothmanOrthopaedics in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has over 30 years of experience in upper extremity rehabilitation in a variety of settings.  He is an occupational therapist, certified hand therapist and an exercise scientist with extensive experience utilizing the kinetic chain approach and its application to upper extremity rehabilitation and performance.  He has a special area of interest in the management of the athlete’s upper extremity injuries and has extensive experience with athletes from the youth to the professional levels. Mike has presented on multiple topics at state, national and international conferences.  He is a member of The American Society of Hand Therapists, American Occupational Therapy Association, American College of Sports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and American Baseball Biomechanics Society.He can be reached at: Instagram: @mueller7487Email:  [email protected]