Reflection 2 - ROM and MMT

It is important to use bony landmarks for positioning and measuring ROM because if there are different therapist measuring the same client, if they both use the same bony landmarks, it increases the likelyhood of the measurements to be the same. When there is more than one therapist, it is called interrater reliability. Intrarater reliability is more reliable than interrater reliability. When the therapist is measuring ROM, it is okay to measure through gravity because they are just measuring how much movement there is at a certain joint. There are different test positions that can be used when testing MMT. There is with gravity and gravity eliminated. Gravity is a resistance which makes MMT harder. The gravity eliminated position is used for clients who are too weak to move through gravity. Without this position, the clients would not be able to be assigned a MMT score. Within the gravity eliminated test, the client will not be able to score higher than a 2 on the Break Test. Test against gravity first, and then work your way down to gravity eliminated if the client cannot perform the movements.

Reflection 1 - Movements

Each day I wake up in the morning and straighten my hair for class. When I reach for the straightener, my elbow is in an extended position and my wrist and should are in a flexed position. After I have picked up my straightener, my elbow moved into a flexed position. My wrist and shoulder remain in a flexed position. Extension of my elbow occurs in the sagittal plane about a frontal axis. Flexion of my shoulder and wrist also occur in the sagittal plane about the frontal axis. The osteokinematics of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist are in a open kinematic chain. In terms of arthrokinematics, the moving ulna is the concave segment which glides in the same direction on the humerus. The prime mover for elbow extension is the triceps brachii, which performs an eccentric contraction. The prime movers for when the elbow flexes are the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis, which perform concentric contractions. The prime mover for shoulder flexion is the anterior deltoid, which performs a concentric contraction.

Therapuetic Relationships

I had to do an internship before I graduated from undergrad and I did it in a hand therapy occupational clinic. While I was there, I made many therapeutic relationships. One of my biggest strengths as an OT will definitely be empathy. I am very empathetic towards individuals because I know how tough and frustrating injuries and therapy can be. I think one thing that will be slightly difficult for me is knowing when it is only a therapeutic relationship rather than it also being a friendship. When I was in high school, I had occupational therapy. I connected with my therapist and now have a friendship with him. I'm not sure if that is crossing the therapeutic relationship boundaries because we connected over occupational therapy. I am wanting to do hand therapy when I graduate, and I think that will be an awesome chance for me to use therapeutic use of self because like all of the clients I will see, I have been in their shoes and realize how tough it is.

Knowledge check on guest speaker

          The main thing that I got from Dr. Keisling's presentation was how drastically disabilities and the treatment of individuals with disabilities have evolved. I cannot imagine being alive during the times when institutionalization was the answer for children and adults with disabilities. I understand that caring for individuals with disabilities is hard, but I cant imagine giving my child up just because I didn't want to put in the work. I also know that sometimes parents or guardians of individuals with disabilities were not capable of being the care taker, but there has to have been different options to still make the individual feel like a human being.
           The era presentation that we did earlier in the course related to the presentation today because it showed how occupational therapy and also how different disabilities have evolved and changed over time. All of the information that I heard today will definitely impact the type of therapist that I will be. I know that people are defined by more than jus their disability, and I want to be able to make connections with my client's not based on their disabilities, or what they cant do, but what they can do. 

OTPF

The OTPF is a document that describes the major concepts within occupational therapy and provides a common understanding of the vision of the profession at the current time.
It is important to learn about the OTPF because it has all of the updated information about thigs you would need to know as an Occupational Therapist. The OTPF establishes a common language that all Occupational Therapists can use to become closer. It focuses on occupations, health and wellness. It uses a top down approach which is the main approach used in OT. The OTPF will help guide an Occupational Therapist through their journey and help with any questions that might come up in treatment/evaluation.

Role, Occupation, Activity, Task

A role that I have is that I am an occupational therapy student. An occupation that goes along with being an occupational therapy student is studying for all of my classes so I can later on successfully evaluate and treat my clients. An activity for the occupation of studying would be spreading out all of my resources for each class and finding successful study mechanisms. One task that is associated with my role as an occupational therapy student is having enough cognitive ability to understand and absorb all of the information being given to me to help me become a successful Occupational Therapist.

Knowledge Check February 12

In OT, we think a lot about using a holistic approach to therapy rather than different approaches. A holistic approach means that an occupational therapist looks at the client as a whole, rather than just looking at their illness or problem. The holistic approach has remained the same for a while and I believe that it will continue to be a big part of occupational therapy.