Laura Thibeau, MOT, OTR/L, CHT, has over 20 years of experience as an Occupational Therapist. She gained an additional certification in Certified Hand Therapy in 2009. She has been with Chicago Hand and Orthopedic S.C. since 2011. She has extensive education in fabrication of custom splinting, application of kinesiotaping, certified in Graston Technique and exploring a certification in dry needling. Laura’s favorite part about being an Occupational Therapist is being able to customize each patient’s care plan by developing a relationship to allow for individualized patient treatment programs. Laura thrives on the challenge of treating the overuse patient, whether it’s an athlete, a high physical demand laborer or an office worker. The ability to work and communicate closely with the attending physician allows for the most effective patient treatment and avoids unnecessary delay of treatment progression. She likes to treat a variety of diagnosis from complex post surgical to non-invasive diagnosis from hand/wrist CTS, trigger finger, osteoarthritis and tendon lacerations to arm/elbow such as bicep ruptures, pronator syndrome and cubital tunnel. She also treats shoulders for pre and postoperative diagnosis such as impingement, reverse total shoulder replacements and humeral fractures and non-surgical cervical/thoracic spine diagnosis. In her spare time, Laura enjoys physically challenging herself, most recently with triathlons. She also enjoys cooking, functional organization and spending time outdoors whether it’s in the forest or on the beach with her two boys and husband.