Rachel Murphy, OTR/L, OTD

Photo: Rachel Murphy, OTR/L, OTD

Rachel is a Black Hills native who grew up in Custer. She earned her undergraduate degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University, followed by her doctorate degree in occupational therapy from the University of South Dakota. After spending some time in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she worked in an outpatient office specializing in the upper extremity, Rachel and her husband decided it was time to return to the Black Hills where they enjoy family and the outdoors.

She has continued her pursuits of specialization in the upper extremity here at Black Hills Orthopedic & Spine Center. She works closely with the Hand Center doctors and certified hand therapists to provide specialized care to the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, and digits.

As an outpatient orthopedic occupational therapist, Rachel merges the biomechanical framework of healing with the meaningful tasks that occupy her patient’s day. Her individualized care plans may include fabrication of custom orthoses, neuromuscular reeducation, therapeutic exercise and activities, and manual techniques. To maximize patient outcomes, she leans into evidence-based intervention with meaningful and functional tasks.

Undergraduate

  • Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE

Doctorate

  • University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD

Medical Interests

  • Upper extremity rehabilitation
  • Fabrication of custom orthosis
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Neuromuscular reeducation techniques
  • Occupation-based interventions
  • Early mobility protocol in ICU