Osteoarthritis of the Thumb – Live Webinar

Live one-hour webinar on April 14, 2026 at 6:00pm Central
To earn a continuing education unit (CEU) certificate, you must be a member of the OT Potential Club.

Course Description

Thumb osteoarthritis is a common condition in older adults. By age 50, the prevalence is about 8% in men and 25% in women—and it increases with age, with meta-analysis data suggesting that by age 80, approximately 39% of women have radiographic signs of thumb base OA.

Conservative treatment is widely acknowledged as first-line care for thumb CMC OA, including occupational and physical therapy, particularly to help initiate splinting and exercise programs.

With conservative treatment roughly 4 out of 5 cases can be managed successfully without surgery.

Given the relatively high prevalence and importance of conservative intervention,  it is critical that even generalist OTs be aware of its presentation and the basics of assessment and treatment.

This course intends to do just that: equip the generalist therapist to watch for, assess, and treat thumb OA—and perhaps most importantly, know when to refer on. We’ll be joined by hand therapist Preston Lockwood.

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OT Potential courses are presented as live webinars, then released on-demand video and audio via the OT Potential Podcast. Attendance in the live webinar will be indicated on your certificate. Learn more about how our courses help meet live webinar requirements, and OT CEU requirements overall.

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Learning Objectives

1. You will be able to identify the basics of occupation-based assessment for thumb osteoarthritis. 
2. You will be able to recognize the evidence backed therapy treatments for thumb osteoarthritis

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Discussion (40 minutes)

1. What drew you to OT and then hand therapy?
2. Tell me about the patients with thumb OA you tend to see on your caseload? Are they there for that condition specifically? And what percentage of patients actually get conservative therapy? 
3. Today, we are specifically addressing beginner level therapy skills with thumb OA. What role do you see overall for the generalist or those just beginning to road into therapy for conservative treatment of condition? 
4. We have a full clinical decision support page for this condition, what would be your advice to a generalist trying to identify the key things to look for in assessment?
5. What advice do you have to a beginner as they approach treatment?
6. What common patient education do you do for this condition?
7. What in your mind would be an ideal frequency and duration, and follow up for this condition?
8. What red-flags are important to keep in mind for referral to a specialist?
9. Thumb OA is just one of many common hand conditions- what needs to change in our profession over the next five years for us to improve our treatment of hand conditions overall? 

Live Q&A (10 min)

Closing (5 min)

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Assessment and treatment of nonsurgical thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis: A modified Delphi-based consensus paper of the American Society of Hand Therapists 
• Psychometric properties of body structures and functions measures in non-surgical thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis: A systematic review
• Incorporation of occupational based intervention into joint protection education for individuals with thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis: A case series

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about osteoarthritis of the thumb. The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic.

Speakers

Preston W Lockwood, OTD, OTR/L, CHT

Preston W Lockwood, OTD, OTR/L, CHT, is a passionate and dedicated occupational therapist and Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) with a strong commitment to advancing the field of hand and upper extremity therapy. With extensive experience in clinical practice, Preston is deeply invested in clinical education, empowering the next generation of therapists through mentorship and knowledge-sharing. As an advocate for global collaboration, Preston is eager to connect with international hand therapy communities for knowledge exchange, furthering the evolution of the profession worldwide. Driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact, Preston is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of hand therapy, advocating for innovation, and contributing to the continuous growth and improvement of the profession.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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