About
Edouard Faure has been an occupational therapist since 2009, specialising in hand rehabilitation in Geneva since 2018. His career has been built exclusively within the canton's leading centres for hand rehabilitation and hand surgery, before joining the Centre de Thérapie de la Main.
After eight years of clinical rehabilitation practice in Lyon, he joined a Geneva hand surgery team in 2018. There he found a demanding field, where technical precision matters as much as understanding what the patient needs to be able to do again: the movements of daily life — writing, dressing, cooking, carrying the shopping — as well as those of work, sport or music. Since then he has completed a dozen specialised training courses in this field, and continues to train regularly.
He takes the time to listen in order to understand the obstacles you face, and builds solutions suited to your situation. He then supports you step by step, guiding you at every stage. Seeing his patients progress remains what interests him most.
Frequently asked questions
Occupational therapist or physiotherapist for the hand?
Many patients look for a physiotherapist for their hand, or a specialised “physio”. The confusion is common and understandable: both professions work on rehabilitation and share some of the same tools — joint mobility, muscle strengthening, manual therapy.
The difference lies in the scope. Physiotherapy covers the whole body; in specialised hand therapy, treatment is centred on the hand, wrist and upper limb, with skills of its own: custom-made splints and thermoformed orthoses, scar treatment, sensory re-education, oedema management, and above all the concrete return to the movements of daily life, work and sport.
In practice, after hand surgery or trauma, it is specialised hand therapy that is frequently prescribed.
Which conditions are treated?
Trauma — fractures of the hand, wrist and elbow (scaphoid, metacarpals, phalanges), sprains, volar plate injuries, skier's thumb, dislocations, tendon or nerve lacerations, complex wounds, digital amputations, burns.
Post-surgical care — rehabilitation after tendon, nerve, ligament or bone surgery, after internal fixation (screws, plates, wires), joint replacements, arthrodeses, treatment of scars and adhesions.
Degenerative and rheumatological conditions — thumb base osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis of the wrist and fingers, Dupuytren's disease.
Musculoskeletal disorders — tendinopathies, tenosynovitis, De Quervain's tendinitis, trigger finger, intersection syndrome, lateral epicondylalgia (tennis elbow), medial epicondylalgia.
Nerve conditions — carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome at the elbow, thoracic outlet syndrome, neuropathic pain, loss or disturbance of sensation, brachial plexus injuries.
Other — complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), persistent oedema, joint stiffness, conditions affecting musicians and athletes.
Is a prescription required? Are sessions reimbursed?
A medical prescription is required. It may be issued by a general practitioner, a rheumatologist, a hand specialist, or by the emergency department following an accident. On that basis, sessions and the materials used (splints, orthoses, bandages and small rehabilitation equipment) are covered by basic health insurance (LAMal) or accident insurance (LAA).
How soon can I get an appointment?
Waiting times vary depending on the period, but recent post-operative and post-traumatic cases are given priority: after surgery, the moment rehabilitation begins directly influences recovery. Where the situation requires it, a splint can be made urgently.
What happens at the first session?
It begins with a one-to-one conversation: your history, the operation or accident, your pain, and your activities — professional, sporting, everyday. This is followed by a full assessment of the hand and upper limb: mobility, strength, sensation, oedema, scars.
From this assessment comes a treatment plan built with you, which follows post-operative protocols where they apply and is organised around your concrete goals: washing and dressing independently, cooking, doing odd jobs, returning to work, regaining a sporting movement, playing an instrument again. You will usually leave with a few exercises to do at home — an essential part of the work between sessions. The length of treatment is also defined at this point: from a few sessions after a sprain to several months of follow-up after complex surgery. The consultation can be held in French or English.
Is rehabilitation painful?
No, not in the sense of pain to be endured: treatment must not trigger significant or lasting pain. Passing discomfort may be felt during certain mobilisations, but the intensity is constantly adjusted to your reactions. A painful hand protects itself, stiffens and recovers less well — which is why the work progresses at a pace your hand can follow. You remain the best judge of what you feel.
Where is the practice?
The Centre de Thérapie de la Main is in central Geneva, a few minutes' walk from Cornavin station — easily reached from Carouge, Meyrin and neighbouring France.