About Aviva Wolff
Aviva Wolff, EdD, OT, CHT is an occupational hand therapist, clinician-scientist with a strong background in motor control and movement analysis. Her extensive experience working with performing artists and individuals with musculoskeletal injuries makes her an expert consultant to The Julliard School. She also runs the upper extremity clinical movement analysis programs and hand and wrist biomechanics research at the Leon Root, MD Motion Analysis Laboratory at Hospital for Special Surgery.
Her research interest is in customizing interventions to each individual's occupational needs and pathology. She utilizes quantitative and qualitative analysis of upper extremity movement dysfunction to generate data to better inform surgery therapy, and performance. She studies the underlying mechanisms of treatments for musculoskeletal conditions that affect upper extremity motion and function in order to further understand and develop more effective treatment strategies.
Her research has focused on wrist biomechanics and function, elbow biomechanics and function, hand and arm function in brachial plexus injury and cerebral palsy, and upper extremity injury prevention in musicians. She has independently led and collaborated with orthopedic surgeons, scientists, and biomechanists on several funded studies that have led to multiple presentations and publications.
Dr. Wolff has served in various leadership capacities in multiple professional organizations.
Credentials
Appointments
Hand TherapistAwards
Vargas International Teaching Award, American Association for Hand Surgery, 2015
Best Scientific/Clinical Poster, American Society for Hand Therapists, 2000
Goldwater Memorial Auxiliary Scholarship, 1990
State Licensure
New York
Languages
EnglishPublications by Aviva Wolff
Selected Books/Chapters
Wolff A. Splinting the Elbow. In Copppard B and Lohman H (Eds) Introduction to Splinting: A clinical reasoning and problem solving approach. Mosby 2008.
Mosca J, Cahill J, Cavanaugh, J, Scalise D, Rudnick H, Wolff A (Eds) Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Orthopedic Clinician. Elsevier, 2006.
Wolff A. Total Elbow Arthroplasty. In Mosca J, et al (Eds) Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Orthopedic Clinician. Elsevier, 2006
Wolff A. Elbow fractures and dislocation. In Mosca J, et al (Eds) Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Orthopedic Clinician. Elsevier, 2006
Wolff A. Radial Head Replacements. In Mosca J, et al (Eds) Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Orthopedic Clinician. Elsevier, 2006
Wolff A. Contracture Release of the Elbow. In Mosca J, et al (Eds) Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Orthopedic Clinician. Elsevier, 2006
Wolff A. Hinged Dynamic External Fixation of the Elbow. In Mosca J, et al (Eds) Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Orthopedic Clinician. Elsevier, 2006
Wolff A. Therapist's Management of Rheumatologic Disorders of the Hand. In Paget S (ed). Manual of Rheumatology and Outpatient Orthopedic Disorders. Wolters Kluwer Health, 2006.
Selected Presentations
Application of digital technology for upper extremity rehabilitation, maximizing outcomes, American Society for Hand Therapy (ASHT), Washington DC (2016)
Wrist Biomechanics, Dynamic Stability and Function, Surgery and Rehabilitation of the Hand, Annual Symposium, Philadelphia (2016)
Biomechanics of Elbow Stiffness, Implications for Rehabilitation, Surgery and Rehabilitation of the Hand, Annual Symposium, Philadelphia (2016)
Quantitative Clinical and Biomechanical Analysis of Upper Extremity Movement Dysfunction, Gait and Clinical Movement Society Annual Meeting (GCMAS), Portland. (2015)
Brachial Plexus Assessment and Rehabilitation Management, American Association for Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), Honolulu (2015)
Musician's Dystonia: Model for Maladaptive Neuroplasticity. American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS), Annual Meeting. Bahamas (2015)
Novel use of Motion Analysis Technology: Application to Upper Extremity Assessment, AACPDM Annual Meeting, San Diego (2014)
Analysis of complex upper extremity movement dysfunction, Schneider's Children's Hospital, Petakh Tikvah, Israel (2014)
Cortical control of hand function, ASHT Annual Meeting, Boston (2014)
Use of Motion Capture Systems in the Diagnosis and Investigation of Upper Extremity Movement, ASHT Annual Meeting, San Diego (2012)