Growing to your full pOTential

            The Man from the South is a story about a soldier betting with an older man to see if his lighter will lite the older man's cigar. The older man puts his car out for the bet and the soldier bet his little finger on his left hand if he didn't win the bet.          If the soldier had lost the bet, he would have lost his little finger which is known to help a lot with hand strength, so daily occupations like fully holding gripping stuff would be affected, for example, him opening a door or holding anything like his weapons or stuffs to workout since he's a soldier and needs to keep fit. The outcome of losing this bet is he wouldn't be able to do many hand activities that require strength like holding his door knob to open or close his door, holding weapons he uses as a soldier, brushing his hair, buttoning short, carrying bags and even brushing his teeth. One modification equipment that might help the soldier participa...

       The scapulohumeral rhythm is the ratio between the scapula and the humerus.    For every 3 degree of shoulder movements, there is one degree at the ST joint and  two degree at the GH joint, with a ratio of 1:2.  To get the full range of motion, the humeral head is rotated laterally and then the motion is distributed between two joints. The scapulohumeral rhythm is not measured, but to know when the rhythm is off or not, we check both the the scapula and humerus and see if they are moving together and if they are not, it means the scapulohumeral rhythm is off.         The Scapulohumeral rhythm is clinically important because it allows for large range of motion at the shoulder when the joint moves.  The scapulohumeral rhythm keeps the glenoid fossa in constant contact with the head of the humerus when it glides interiorly. The scapulohumeral rhythm is also helpful to obtain a good movement in multiple planes of m...

     In OT school, we are currently in biomechanics where we are learning testing positions. Testing position helps us manually test our muscles. We use Range of Motion, where the amount of movement at a joint is tested and then Manual Muscle Testing where the strength of muscle is tested from a mid range point. For measuring Range of Motion (ROM), It's important to use bony landmarks and proper positioning because to know the accuracy of movement made. It helps the practitioner set goals with client and see progress. The purpose of the 'test position' for Manual Muscle Testing (MMT)  is to generate movement upward. It starts at mid-point of ROM, which isn't at the start and also not at the end so it shows if there can be resistance from each side the force is put on, when the practitioner tells the client, 'don't let me push you down'. MMT stabilizes, and prevents compensation by the client.  The gravity eliminated position is important to see if the ...

         I met a second-year medical student on campus during lunch time and she stopped and asked me what program I’m in. I told her I’m in the Occupational therapy program and she asked me what Occupational Therapy is and my motivation for becoming an OT practitioner. I began by stating to her that Occupational therapy is very client-centered and focuses on a holistic view of an individual and OTs work in many areas such as hospitals, schools, home health, skilled nursing facilities, etc. Occupational therapy focuses on daily occupations of their clients and not limited to what’s important to the client. Occupational therapy professionals evaluate, intervene and plan outcomes for their clients. I then went on to expand on a clearer explanation that as the practice of medicine adds more days to their client’s life, we focus on adding more life to the client’s days.   She asked me about my motivation for wanting to be an Occupational Therapy practitioner ...

  Most mornings and evenings, I sip hot tea form a cup. When I reach for the cup, my elbow is extended and it moves towards flexion as i move the cup closer to my mouth to sip. The motion of flexion and extension of my elbow happens at a sagittal plane on a frontal axis. The osteokinematics of my elbow is extension to flexion in an open kinematic chain. Arthrokinematics is the concave surface of the ulna rolls and then glides in the same direction anteriorly on the convex surface of the humerus. The prime mover muscle with this action is the biceps brachii which contracts concentrically during elbow flexion.

 If the image appears blurry, the link is below. https://www.canva.com/design/DAFeiDp77H4/SbgNd5K5GngYw7vzf2KnJg/edit?utm_content=DAFeiDp77H4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton References Lancaster, S. (2023, February 21). Introduction to the Occupational Therapy Practice            Framework (4th ed.) [PowerPoint Slides].   Lancaster, S. (2023, March 1). The Occupational Therapy Process & An Introduction to Clinical          Observation [PowerPoint Slides]. Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process—Fourth                Edition. Am J OccupTher August 2020, Vol. 74(Supplement_2), 7412410010p1–          7412410010p87. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001