Accredited Hand Therapists are registered Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists who, through further education, clinical experience and independent study have become proficient in the treatment of upper limb conditions resulting from injury, disease or deformity
Katie Anjou
Bachelor Applied Science in Physiotherapy
Post Grad Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation
Full Member of The Australian Hand Therapy Association
Accredited Hand Therapist
Katie qualified as a physiotherapist in 1987, initially working in orthopedic physiotherapy for 10 years, in hospital, community and private practice settings. In 1996, whilst working as the Principal Physiotherapist at Royal Darwin Hospital, Katie began focusing on Hand Therapy. Her passion for the area quickly led her to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Hand and Upper Limb Rehabilitation from Perth’s Curtin University.
In 2003 Katie returned to Melbourne to further consolidate her skills in Hand Therapy. She worked at the Alfred Hospital, and in private practice. She commenced at St Vincent’s Hospital in 2004, where she worked as the Senior Clinician leading the Hand Therapy Team for 19 years, leaving in 2023. Katie supervised and managed both senior and junior hand therapists, and undergraduate physiotherapy students. She set up and ran, as an extended scope practitioner, the Advanced Hand Therapy clinic, which triages simple hand trauma from the Emergency department and GP referrals. Throughout her career Katie has lectured at La Trobe University in management of Hand conditions for undergraduate physiotherapy students. She has a passion for teaching and a strong commitment to assisting Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapists develop into Hand Therapists.
Katie has a special interest in multi-trauma and hand replantation, where an amputated part is surgically put back on. She was an integral part of the St Vincent’s Hand Transplant team, being the prime therapist rehabilitating Australia’s first hand transplant, which occurred in March 2011. Katie has presented this interesting and successful case in many forums including the Victorian Surgeons conference and the National Australian Hand Therapy annual conference. Katie is actively involved in the Australian Hand Therapy Association, being a full member since 2009, and is an accredited Hand Therapist. She was the Victorian Divisional Coordinator for three years and is highly committed to ongoing professional development.
Since 2015, Katie has been involved in volunteer work for Interplast, an international aid organisation committed to ’repairing bodies and rebuilding lives’ in local communities in The Pacific and Asia. Katie, as the Physiotherapy and Hand Therapy team member, works alongside the Plastics surgical team who travel to Samoa annually. Katie’s role is to train the local therapists in the area of Hand and Upper Limb management, as well as rehabilitate the surgical cases carried out by Interplast throughout the visit. Since 2024, Katie has also been part of the Allied Health team that teaches undergraduate Physiotherapy students through a specialty week in hand therapy and burns management at the University in Suva, Fiji.
Katie finds this cross-cultural experience both challenging and highly rewarding. She feels it assists her in maintaining a healthy prospective on best practice within the Australian health care system.
In 2003 Katie returned to Melbourne to further consolidate her skills in Hand Therapy. She worked at the Alfred Hospital, and in private practice. She commenced at St Vincent’s Hospital in 2004, where she worked as the Senior Clinician leading the Hand Therapy Team for 19 years, leaving in 2023. Katie supervised and managed both senior and junior hand therapists, and undergraduate physiotherapy students. She set up and ran, as an extended scope practitioner, the Advanced Hand Therapy clinic, which triages simple hand trauma from the Emergency department and GP referrals. Throughout her career Katie has lectured at La Trobe University in management of Hand conditions for undergraduate physiotherapy students. She has a passion for teaching and a strong commitment to assisting Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapists develop into Hand Therapists.
Katie has a special interest in multi-trauma and hand replantation, where an amputated part is surgically put back on. She was an integral part of the St Vincent’s Hand Transplant team, being the prime therapist rehabilitating Australia’s first hand transplant, which occurred in March 2011. Katie has presented this interesting and successful case in many forums including the Victorian Surgeons conference and the National Australian Hand Therapy annual conference. Katie is actively involved in the Australian Hand Therapy Association, being a full member since 2009, and is an accredited Hand Therapist. She was the Victorian Divisional Coordinator for three years and is highly committed to ongoing professional development.
Since 2015, Katie has been involved in volunteer work for Interplast, an international aid organisation committed to ’repairing bodies and rebuilding lives’ in local communities in The Pacific and Asia. Katie, as the Physiotherapy and Hand Therapy team member, works alongside the Plastics surgical team who travel to Samoa annually. Katie’s role is to train the local therapists in the area of Hand and Upper Limb management, as well as rehabilitate the surgical cases carried out by Interplast throughout the visit. Since 2024, Katie has also been part of the Allied Health team that teaches undergraduate Physiotherapy students through a specialty week in hand therapy and burns management at the University in Suva, Fiji.
Katie finds this cross-cultural experience both challenging and highly rewarding. She feels it assists her in maintaining a healthy prospective on best practice within the Australian health care system.