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).
Making plans for Hand Therapy Week 2025? Here are some creative ideas for celebrating the specialty.
ASHT Photo Contest
Send your hand- and upper extremity-related photos to ASHT@asht.org by May 28, 2025 for the chance to win prizes from ASHT and our Hand Therapy Week sponsor, Össur + Naked Prosthetics!
Please include your name and brief description of the image. Voting will take place during Hand Therapy Week (June 2-8).
NEW! The top three winners will get to pick their prize from Loop & Tie — a fun, curated gifting platform with tons of great options. From cozy home goods to cool gadgets, there’s something for everyone! All entrants will receive a free giveaway from Össur + Naked Prosthetics!
This contest is open to ASHT members only. Multiple images may be submitted. Limit one prize per person. Submissions may be used in future marketing materials
View 2024 submissions
View 2023 submissions
View 2022 submissions
View 2021 submissions
View 2020 submissions
View 2019 submissions
View 2018 submissions
Hand and Upper Extremity Safety Videos
ASHT continues to add to our series focusing on specific diagnoses to be used as a patient resource for learning more about hand and upper extremity conditions and dispelling misconceptions. We are excited to release a new video, debuting at the start of Hand Therapy Week, on cyclist's palsy.
Be sure to like our Facebook page and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all of our latest videos! We encourage you to share these videos and the others in our video library with your patients, colleagues and social media followers to promote the specialty.
ASHT Video Library
- Cell phones & texting
- Hand safety while gardening
- Protecting your hands while using portable electronics
- Hand & upper extremity conditions during pregnancy
- Hand & upper extremity mental health series
- Desk and workstation ergonomics
- Hand safety in the kitchen
- Pumpkin carving safety
- Safe snow removal
- Turkey carving safety
- Telehealth FAQs
- Virtual learning desk setup
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- CMC/thumb arthritis
- Tennis elbow
Daily Challenges
ASHT offers daily challenges to make it even easier for you to participate in Hand Therapy Week. Check back soon for our 2025 challenges!
Monday (6/2): Empower Your Grip — Who is the strongest in your clinic? Take your grip strength or a colleague’s grip strength with a dynamometer and post the dynamometer recording to your socials. Experiment with different positions (e.g. elbow flexed, elbow extended, forearm in neutral vs supinated).
Tuesday (6/3): HandGPT — AI image generators often struggle with accurately depicting human hands due to their complex structure and variability. Try prompting AI to create hand imagery (e.g. hook fist, table top, oppose thumb to base of the small finger). Share your funniest/most absurd results and what you used as a prompt.
Wednesday (6/4): Therapy Putty Art — Explore creativity and expression through our Therapy Putty Art Exhibition — open to patients, therapists and anyone who enjoys working with their hands. This fun, no-pressure activity invites you to create a unique sculpture using therapy putty and share it with our community. Whether it’s abstract, whimsical or meaningful, your creation is a celebration of imagination and wellness. Mold, snap a photo and submit your artwork today!
Thursday (6/5): One-hand Challenge — As hand therapists, we often treat individuals who injure their dominant hand and need to use their non-dominant, typically more uncoordinated, hand for everyday tasks. Now it’s your turn to try to perform daily tasks with your non-dominant hand! Take a video of yourself or a colleague executing a common daily task with your non-dominant hand (tying shoes, eating with a fork, putting your hair in a ponytail).
Friday (6/6): "Deserted Island" Survival Kit — If you had only one essential therapy tool, exercise or resource to choose from to "survive" your work day, what would it be? It could be your goniometer, a hammer or binder clips. Show us what and why!
Have an idea for a future daily challenges? Let us know!
10th Annual AHTF Virtual Run/Walk
Participate in the 2025 American Hand Therapy Foundation Virtual Run/Walk!
ASHT is proud to sponsor this event to support upper extremity research and education. Complete a 5K run/walk by the end of Hand Therapy Week (June 2-8) and support AHTF's research and education grants.
Be sure to join the official ASHT team and watch us on the leaderboard!
Resources
Marketing Resources
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.
Flyer for Surgeons
Flyer for Primary Care Physicians
Generic Flyer
Patient Education Resources
Utilize our vast library of Patient Education Resources, which provide information on common diagnoses and the role a hand therapist plays in treatment. Based on member requests, we've begun releasing Spanish translations of our most popular resources.
Share Your Story
Hand therapy can change lives, and who better to share the importance and impact of hand therapy 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: You will be asked to upload documentation of your patient’s consent using this form. Your story may be featured on our website or in upcoming campaigns.
Get the Word Out
Write a Press Release
Create effective Hand Therapy Week buzz in your local media by sharing your personal success, patient accomplishments and news with the public through targeted media outreach. ASHT's Marketing Toolbook will help you develop a press release and strategically contact media to announce your organization's plans to celebrate Hand Therapy Week.
Learn more about contacting news outlets
Contact Your Local Government
Spread the word about hand therapy by writing a letter to your local Chamber of Commerce (sample) or requesting a state proclamation (sample).
Celebrate
About Our Sponsor: Össur + Naked Prosthetics
Össur is a leading global provider of innovative prosthetics and bracing and support solutions. As a key part of Össur's upper limb portfolio, Naked Prosthetics designs and manufactures prosthetic devices that support individuals with finger and partial-hand loss in confidently returning to work and everyday activities. Together, Össur and Naked Prosthetics are committed to advancing technology and delivering functional solutions that empower people living with limb difference.
Learn more about Össur and Naked Prosthetics