Our team consists of two dedicated hand therapists with a true passion for hand therapy. We continuously enhance our expertise through ongoing education, courses, and the latest research to provide you with the highest standard of care. Our motto, 'Advanced Healing with Comfort in Mind,' reflects our belief that recovery doesn’t have to be painful—we focus on effective treatment with your comfort at the forefront."

 

Soňa S Dowds, MSc, MISCP

Soňa is a Chartered Physiotherapist with over 23 years of work experience. Her specialist area is Hand Therapy.  She has been interested in hands since she was an undergraduate and  she has been working in this field for over 20 years. 

Her other area of expertise is treatment of scars, especially after surgery, and she has qualified as a Certified Restore Scar Therapy Practitioner.

In her free time Soňa enjoys sewing, hiking and travelling. She lives with her husband, 4 kids, 2 dogs and a cat in Tralee.

 

Education

Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic: BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy, 1996 

Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic: MSc in Rehabilitation Engineering, 1998

 

Further education

Hand Therapy courses:

  • Level 1 BAHT,
  • Level 2 British Association of Hand Therapists accredited courses : Assessment of the Upper Limb; Static Splinting; The Wrist
  •  Treating without pain and Advanced Treating without pain with Alison Taylor
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
  • Using Neoprene for Splinting the Upper Limb
  • Kinesiotaping in Hand Therapy
  • An evidence-based rehabilitation approach to peripheral nerve conditions
  • Arthritis of the Hand
  • NRX® Strap concept workshop
  • Czech association of Hand surgeons and Hand therapists bi-annual conference
  • Internship in Institute of Hand Surgery and Plastic Surgery (Vysoke nad Jizerou, Czechia)

Scar Therapy: 

  • Restore Certified Scar Therapy Practitioner
  • Restore Oncology Scar Specialist

Manual Lymphatic Drainage:

  • Certified Manual Lymphatic Drainage practitioner

 

Sona is also teaching the NRX soft splinting workshops and is currently in a process of becoming a Restore Scar Therapy tutor.

Jana Lalikova, Bc.

Jana earned her degree in Physiotherapy and a Diploma in Occupational Therapy in the Czech Republic and Slovakia nearly 20 years ago, and she has been working in the field ever since. Her studies and experiences abroad have equipped her with a diverse "toolkit" of skills that she applies daily to assess and treat her clients. Her interventions often yield impressive results, even for those who have lost hope in physiotherapy, earning her strong rapport with both clients and referring consultants. Jana specializes in the rehabilitation of shoulders, the cervical spine, and hands, and she is among the few therapists in Ireland with significant experience and success in treating scoliosis.

Please note that Jana is not registered in Ireland to use the titles “Physiotherapist” or “Occupational Therapist.”

Outside of work and study, Jana enjoys taking walks with her dog.

Education

St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, BSc. in Physiotherapy

Nursing College, Ostrava, Czech Republic, Higher Diploma in Occupational Therapy

 

Further education

  • Attending Shoulder Surgery in Bon Secours Hospital in Tralee
  • Attending Knee Surgery in Sports Surgery Clinic –Santry Dublin
  • Work shadowing  Plastics Consultant's and Hand Therapy consultations – Cork University Hospital
  • 6 weeks work experience in Department of Neurology – Kerry University Hospital Tralee
  • 2 weeks Work experience – Medbase – Rehab/Sports Clinic – Zug, Switzerland
  • Participation in Bon Secours Physiotherapy Study Day (Tralee, Ireland)
  • Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (prof. Kolar, Prague, The Czech Rep.)
  • Manual Lymphatic Drainage (Brno, The Czech Rep.)
  • Sensorimotor  Stimulation (Prague, The Czech Rep.)
  • Pain Management by David Butler (London, UK)
  • Manual Therapy – Ribs Mobilisation / Mojzis Method (Vyskov, The Czech Rep.)
  • Women´s Health – (Vyskov, The Czech Rep.)
  • Rehab Training and Functional Sports Therapy (Prague, The Czech Rep.)
  • Bobath Course Introductory Modul 1 (Manchester, UK)
  • Bobath Course Introductory Modul 2 and 3 (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Spiraldynamik – Intelligent Movement (Prague, The Czech Rep.)
  • NRX® Strap concept workshop 
  • Czech association of Hand surgeons and Hand therapists bi-annual conference, Brno 2023
  • Internship in Institute of Hand Surgery and Plastic Surgery (Vysoke nad Jizerou, Czechia)

Jana is also teaching the NRX soft splinting workshops