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Updates & Communications July 2025

  • What’s New This Month:
  • Word from Jen
  • Welcome Sharon Golby
  • Celebratory Lunch Recap
  • A Clinical Piece: Finger Fractures
  • What Our Patients Are Saying
Jennifer Mathias

WORD FROM JEN

Jennifer Mathias
MHT Director
Senior Clinician

  • What’s New This Month:
  • Word from Jen
  • Welcome Sharon Golby
  • Celebratory Lunch Recap
  • A Clinical Piece: Finger Fractures
  • What Our Patients Are Saying

Hi Everyone,

We’re thrilled to welcome two outstanding clinicians to the Melbourne Hand Therapy team!

A warm welcome to Sharon Golby, Senior Hand Therapist, and a welcome back to Phillip Hughes, Shoulder Physiotherapist. We are incredibly proud to have both of these highly experienced therapists on our team.

With over 20 years of clinical experience each, Sharon and Phillip bring a wealth of knowledge, insight, and dedication to Melbourne Hand Therapy. Sharon holds a Master’s degree in Hand Therapy, while Phillip has completed a PhD in Shoulder Rehabilitation—both reflecting their deep commitment to advancing care in their respective fields.

Their clinical expertise and ongoing pursuit of excellence further strengthen our multidisciplinary approach to upper limb rehabilitation. We’re excited about the positive impact they’ll have on both our patients and our team.

Jen
Welcome

Sharon Golby

We’re delighted to welcome back Sharon Golby, who originally worked with us in 2007. Sharon is a highly experienced and respected hand therapist, bringing more than two decades of clinical expertise across both public and private healthcare settings.

For the past 15 years, Sharon has worked as a Senior Clinician at The Alfred Hospital’s Hand Therapy Department, one of Australia’s leading trauma centres. She has now made the transition back to private practice full time, bringing with her a deep well of clinical knowledge, a calm and compassionate approach to care, and a strong commitment to achieving the best outcomes for her patients.

Sharon Goldby
You can now book in with Sharon at
+ Bundoora
+ Box Hill
+ Blackburn

At MHT, we are proud of the collective experience across our team. It’s something that truly sets us apart. Over one-third of our therapists have more than 20 years of experience, and well over half have over 10 years—a testament to the depth of expertise available at Melbourne Hand Therapy.

Celebratory Lunch Recap

Earlier this month our Melbourne Hand Therapy team took a well-earned break from splints and exercise sheets to celebrate a successful quarter of positive patient outcomes and professional milestones. Over a relaxed long lunch at a favourite local restaurant, conversation flowed as freely as the beverages—swapping clinical pearls, welcoming our newest clinicians, and raising a toast to the collaborative spirit that keeps our practice thriving. Events like these strengthen professional collaboration and ensure that our practice continues to deliver the highest standard of hand and upper-limb rehabilitation.

Team Celebration

Finger Fractures

A clinical piece

Winter footy, netball finals and even a weekend spent moving furniture during a house move can all lead to an unwelcome souvenir: a fractured finger.

How do finger fractures happen?

  • Falls & tackles – A ball-sport collision or a slip on a wet footpath forces the finger backwards or sideways.
  • Direct blows – Cricket slips catches, basketball rebounds or a hammer missed by a millimetre.
  • Crush injuries – Car doors, kitchen drawers or heavy gym plates meeting fingertips.

Spot the signs early

  • Immediate, pinpoint pain
    • A sharp, localised ache that doesn’t fade after a few minutes of “shaking it off” often means more than a simple bump.
  • Swollen or throbbing finger
    • Fingers balloon quickly when bone is injured. If your ring suddenly feels tight or the skin looks shiny, get it checked.
  • Bruised or colour change at the nail bed or finger
    • Purple, blue, or blood under the nail can appear the same day.
  • Finger tip drooping
    • With a mallet injury, the tip droops and won’t lift on its own.
  • Crooked alignment or overlapping of finger
    • Make a gentle fist. Does the injured finger overlap its neighbour, point at a different angle, or won’t bend/straighten like the others?
  • Numbness or tingling
    • Any persistent pins-and-needles sensation?
Finger Fracture

First steps

  1. Stop the activity immediately – Continuing to play, lift, or work can worsen the break.
  2. Remove rings, watches, or tight sleeves – Swelling can trap jewellery and cut off circulation.
  3. Immobilise the finger – Buddy-strap it lightly to a neighbour finger.
  4. Apply ice –  15 minutes on, 15 minutes off. Use a cloth barrier to avoid skin injury.
  5. Elevate the hand above heart level – Reduces throbbing and limits swelling.
  6. Seek professional assessment within 24 hours – X-ray or urgent care/hand therapy clinic to confirm the diagnosis and begin appropriate treatment.

Types of Finger fractures

  • Tuft fracture
    • When the very end of your finger gets slammed, the tiny bone under the nail cracks and the tip throbs and swells.
  • Mallet finger
    • A ball smacks the tip of a straight finger, the tendon pops off the bone, and the fingertip hangs down like the end of a bent straw.
  • Phalanx fracture
    • A direct hit or twist snaps the long part of the finger bone; the finger looks crooked or it may be difficult to make a fist.
  • ‘Boxer’s’ Fracture
    • Hitting a wall—or mis-aimed punch—cracks the bone just below the knuckle, making the knuckle look flat and sore when you try to clench a fist
Types of Finger Fracture

What treatment looks like at Melbourne Hand Therapy

  • Custom thermoplastic splint- A low-profile, mould-to-fit splint is fabricated on the spot allows safe protection of the fracture while keeping adjacent fingers free
  • Surgical fast-track – referral pathways to hand surgeons for fractures needing surgical care
  • Swelling management – this can reduce pain and stiffness
  • Progressive movement and strengthening program when appropriate
  • Guided return to sport/work program
  • Prevention tips

Need help?

If you’ve copped a knock and the finger is painful, swollen or just “looks a bit off,” book an urgent walk-in appointment or call us at (03) 9899 8490.

Early care means straighter fingers, faster healing and a quicker return to the things you love!

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Australian Hand Therapy Association
AHTA Course

Courses attended:

We are pleased to announce that Diana has started the first steps to becoming an Australian Hand Therapy Association accredited hand therapist. MHT has supported Diana through this accelerated process to becoming a fully accredited HT.

As part of my ongoing professional development, I completed the AHTA Fundamentals of Hand Therapy course, which focuses specifically on the treatment and rehabilitation of the hand, wrist, and upper limb. Even with my experience in this area, the course allowed me to deepen my understanding of complex injuries, surgical procedures, and recovery pathways. It reinforced the most up-to-date, evidence-based techniques for rehabilitation and gave me more tools to ensure patients receive the most effective, targeted care possible. It also refined my skills in clinical reasoning and post-surgical management, so I can better support my patient’s recovery. Investing in this kind of advanced training means I can give my patients the highest standard of care with greater confidence and precision.

WHAT Our PATIENTS ARE SAYING

Fiona
Expert and friendly therapy. I feel more hopeful that surgery may be postponed or even avoided.
5 Star

Val
I have been very pleased with the service I have received so far. Jana is a lovely, friendly therapist supporting my needs.
5 Star

Frank
Robin Wilks has been providing me with excellent care. Highly recommend her service and Melbourne Hand Therapy.
5 Star

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