About Clare Black (Occupational Therapist)

Clare graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) from the University of Sydney, Australia in 2006. She is an experienced occupational therapist and has a wide range of specialist clinical skills gained working in both the public and private sectors.

Clare has worked in hand therapy for over half of her career and this is her main area of expertise. Hand therapy involves rehabilitation of the hand, wrist and elbow. Prior to moving to Hong Kong she worked as a senior hand therapist in one of Brisbane’s busiest and most renowned private hand therapy clinics. It was here she worked alongside 11 hand and upper limb surgeons. Clare has a special interest in traumatic upper limb injuries, scar and oedema management, and complex regional pain syndrome. Hand injuries and conditions she commonly sees are tendon injuries, upper limb fractures/dislocations and sports injuries. Clare also treats conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinopathies such as de Quervain’s tendinosis, and arthritis. Clare enjoys being creative with rehabilitation and is meticulous with customised thermoplastic splinting and casting.

Clare is a full member of the Australian Hand Therapy Association, which was gained through a commitment to ongoing professional development and clinical experience in the hand therapy field. Clare has presented at the Australian Hand Therapy Conference and webinar program. 

In additional to working in hand therapy Clare has worked in tertiary hospitals around Australia. During this time she held the position of Trauma Team Leader at the Royal Darwin Hospital Occupational Therapy Department. While working in the public sector Clare gained a vast amount of experience in rehabilitation of burn injuries including skin graft and flap management, vascular and plastics conditions.

Patients with lower limb vascular conditions including varicose veins and chronic venous disease may benefit from occupational therapy. Clare has done further education in oedema management and is able to prescribe both ready to wear and custom made compression garments for burns and vascular patients.

Clare has also worked as a rehabilitation consultant to assist injured workers return to work. She can provide ergonomic advice, and workplace assessments including recommendation of modified equipment to minimise injury aggravation in the workplace.