Biomechanics Blog 4: Hand

 The "Man from the South" is a short story about an older gentleman from South American who bets a young bumptious American naval cadet his Cadillac, if the boy can strike his lighter ten times in a row. However, the catch is that if the boy did not succeed with the lighter, his little finger would be cut off by the older man. The boy agreed to the bet since he believed the little finger is useless. When the boy was on strike eight, the old man's wife came barging in and explained to the boy that her husband was a "menace" and has done this several times before. The irony of the whole thing was that when the wife reached for her Cadillac keys, the boy noticed that she only had one finger and a thumb on her hand.

If the cadet had lost his pinky finger from the bet, many of his daily occupations would be impacted. These occupations could range anywhere from operating a gun, climbing, opening jars, to ADLs such as eating/drinking and dressing/putting on uniform. In Biomechanics, I learned that the hand and fingers play a big role in daily functioning. If the boy had lost his finger due to the bet, he would have lost some of his hand function. Although the first three fingers are very important for precision task such as writing, drawing, and picking up small objects, the pinky finger is just as important. It is one of the fingers that help with power grip. Without the boy's pinky he would notice a dramatic decrease in his overall grip strength. As I mentioned opening a jar would be affected and harder to complete because he wouldn't have as much hand strength due to his pinky missing. An adaptive equipment that the cadet may use could be a silicon anti-slip jar/bottle opener as pictured below. The rubber jar opener would allow the boy to attain a good and comfortable grip while also using his other hand to apply power.

Because the wife only had one finger and a thumb, her occupations have probably changed dramatically over the years. Due to her situation ADLs that most people think are simple would be extremely challenging for her to complete without assistance. These would include dressing, eating brushing teeth, and toileting. As I mentioned one main daily routine that would be challenging is using a utensil to eat. An adaptive equipment that she could use would be utensils with a loop as pictured below. This would allow her to use her thumb and one finger that she has to get a firm hold while eating. Even with poor or no grip strength, she will still be able to use this device successfully with no assistance.

Retrieved from: Cutlery with Loops - The Active Hands Company

Retrieved from: Bottle and Jar Openers – Ability Superstore