Ms Michelle Razo, Belfast’s first and only Certified Hand Therapist (CHT), headlines the United Kingdom’s 2026 National Conference for Hand Therapists at Engineers House in Bristol held on 2 and 3 October 2026. In doing so, she became the first Hand Therapist from Northern Ireland to feature at the main conference event.

The expert speaker panel

Ms Razo shared the stage with five other Hand Therapists from across the UK.

  • Juliette Bray, Advanced Clinical Practitioner Hand Therapist, Royal Free London
  • Emma Skuse, Clinical Specialist Hand Therapist, Chester
  • Katia Fournier, Clinical Lead in Hand Therapy, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
  • Sarah Bradley, Consultant Hand Therapist, University Hospital Dorset
  • Simi Padmanabhan, Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Burns and Plastics Department, Salisbury District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Hand Therapy first or surgery?

The headline event brought six expert Hand Therapists from across the UK together to work through three clinical cases. For every case, one expert made the argument for non-surgical management and the other made the argument for surgery.

The organisers assigned the positions, so each speaker presented the case position they were given rather than necessarily their own clinical view. That made the session as much a test of clinical reasoning as of opinion.

Ms Razo drew the non-surgical side. It is ground she knows well. Her practice in Belfast specialises in a Hand Therapy first approach.

An elite boxer’s finger

Ms Michelle Razo’s case introduced a 25-year-old elite female boxer with Team Great Britain Boxing. She had sustained an acute isolated radial sagittal band rupture of her right middle finger in competition. For an athlete at that level the question is not only whether the finger will heal, but how reliably she can get back to training and competing.

Ms Razo made the case for a 3-week orthotic trial with defined exit criteria. With time restriction, hear how she built that case in her own words:

Ms Razo presents the non-surgical case for an acute sagittal band rupture in an elite boxer (7 minutes).

The orthoses

Three custom orthoses sat at the centre of Ms Razo’s case, each one fabricated by her for the presentation:

Hand based MCP joint extension orthosis for a middle finger sagittal band rupture, shown from the palm and from the side.
MCP joint extension orthosis for a middle finger sagittal band rupture.
Relative motion extension yoke orthosis on the middle finger for a sagittal band rupture, shown from the palm and from the side.
Relative motion extension yoke orthosis for a middle finger sagittal band rupture.
Wrist inclusive orthosis variant for a middle finger sagittal band rupture, shown from the side and from the palm.
Wrist inclusive variant for a middle finger sagittal band rupture.

Independent practice on the national stage

More than a first for Northern Ireland, Ms Razo was also the first Mexican-American Hand Therapist to take centre stage, as well as the only independent practitioner on the expert panel.

Independent practice is progressively at the forefront of how Hand Therapy is shaped and delivered across the UK. Representing expert independent Hand Therapy practice on the national stage reflects how much the profession is drawing on independent practice. Ms Razo’s clinic remains Northern Ireland’s only fully independent advanced practice Hand Therapy clinic.

For information about inviting Ms Razo to speak at your event or deliver a clinical course, please visit the speaking and media page.