Growing to your full pOTential

     For this blog, we chose two states and read chapters about them in the books, 50 Abilities, Unlimited Possibilities: Racing to the Final Finish Line From Salt Lake City to the Mountains of Montana and 50 Abilities, Unlimited Possibilities: Wheeling Through 50 States. These books talk about Paul Erway and his friends journey in completing 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 weeks. This is really and eye-opening reading about our society and the motivation behind what we as human beings do regardless of our abilities and disabilities. The two states I focused on were Arizona and Virginia/ DC, where his sub-titles for them were enthusiasm and integrity.                                                                Phoenix, Arizona:     The first state I read was his experience in Arizona. The subtitle...

  Picture: A MOT student bending down to search for something in the cabinet. Picture 2: A MOT student sitting in her regular position. Picture 3: A MOT student sitting in a relaxed position checking her phone.        I observed 3 different classmates during our leisure time before and after our first class. The first student is student was bending down to see if she can find something in the cabinet, the second was just sitting leaning forward and the third student with her phone scrolling through social media.       In picture 2, we have the MOT student sitting down with exaggerated spinal curves flexing forward. Her pelvis is in a posterior tilt and her pelvis rotated slightly to the right. Her cervical spine is extremely curved, her thoracic spine is also curved  and her lumbar spine is flattened. Her left leg is slightly extended on a scooter seat and the right knee is flexed about 60 degrees facing the floor. Her head is also shift...

Retrieved from  https://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/ References Staff, N. (2017, January 19). How can going blind give you vision? . NPR. https://www.npr.org/2017/01/20/510624029/how-can-going-blind-give-you-vision  Rogers, A. (2015, February 27). The science of why no one agrees on the color of this dress. Wired. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from  https://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/

            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 ...