Adventures in Occupational Therapy

Neurobiology and Advertisements As a child, I would sit on my grandparents porch and search for the cartoon section in the local newspaper. While I flipped through the Southern Sentinel, coupons for the local grocery store and perfume samples would fall to the floor. The scent of perfume would fill the room. Eventually, I found the Dennis the Menace cartoons. These fragrance ads have an interesting marketing impact! Consider your own experiences with perfume and cologne sample ads. You open your mailbox to get your monthly bills and Channel No. 5 hits your olfactory system.  Fragrance ads, notorious for connecting smells and attraction, have  an interesting interaction with the nervous system. Not only do these ads market through visual information, but also use the sense of smell. The brain has an interesting way of joining smell with memories and emotions. The olfactory system is the only sensory system to go directly to the cerebral cortex, where other senses must first go ...

Assistive Devices My friend Virginia & I making silly faces. Virginia is a platform walker user. In order to sure a client's safety, assistive devices must be uniquely fitted to the individual. The therapist also educates the client about proper use and technique of devices to ensure appropriate body mechanics and security. An additional reason for therapists to "fit" a client for assistive devices is to appropriately designated the device needed to met the individual's needs.  The client's motor skills, cognition, and endurance levels must all be considered when determining the appropriate equipment.  Occupational therapists and other health professionals have distinct value in experiences and education to aid in the assignment of assistive devices. Also, the misuse or inappropriate fitting of assistive devices could lead to additional injuries or accidents.  In fitting a client for a cane or walker, the hand grip would be at the level of the wrist crease or ...

 Mobility & Activity Demands As the physical demands of an activity increase, the more mobility is needed to perform it. As seen in the hierarchy of mobility skills, a person's independence and ability to participate in occupations increases as their mobility increases. The following actions are mobility skills listed from the base of the pyramid to the top (least mobile to most mobile): bed mobility, mat transfer, wheelchair transfer, bed transfer, functional ambulation for ADL, toilet & tub transfer, car transfer, functional ambulation for community mobility, and community mobility & driving. This order makes sense to me because it begins with a wider base of support which lessens with the more mobile activities. These activities build upon one another. Important factors to consider with mobility are cognition, proprioception, vestibular input/balance, and vision. The more mobile activities require constant input and output of these things.  In my personal experi...

 Posture and Body Mechanics Every day I go on walks throughout my neighborhood or along the greenbelt. In the picture above, I was on a walk with Summer and her dog Cinnamon. As I reached down to pet Cinnamon, my pelvis is tilted anteriorly and my hips are flexed. My trunk is flexed with an excessive kyphotic curve as I'm bent over. My cervical vertebrae are extended as my head looks forwards. My femurs are internally rotated resulting in my knees being together. As I reach anteriorly to pet the dog, my scapulae protract.  In this bent position with my feet together, I have a low center of gravity and small base of support. Therefore, I am less stable and the compact nature of my body position would lead to less mobility overall. It would require trunk extension, hip extension, and knee extension against the force of gravity to return to a standing position. However, my upper extremities are fairly mobile and not used to support my body weight. This posture places additional f...

 Man from the South If the solider lost the bet, he would have impairments in his ability to grasp objects. In addition, he would experience a decrease in the power of his grip due to the loss of his fifth digit. The solider's ability to hold a weapon, lift heavy objects, and function in his work would be impacted.  If his gun was difficult to hold or extremely heavy, perhaps the gun stock could be modified and custom made to his hand or built using lighter materials. This focuses on the improvement of the outcome of occupational performance as a member of the military. In regards to the man's wife, her activities of daily living would be impacted tremendously due to her loss of fingers 3-5. Her ability to perform the instrumental activity of daily living of food preparation would be greatly impacted. She would not have a power grip and would be unable to carry a heavy bag of groceries in her hand, hold utensils, and so on. She would depend on a pincher grip and key pinch of h...