Liz Burton MOT/S

One word I can use to summarize the TEDx Talk (TEDxDalhousieU) with Sanford Hare is: GRATITUDE.  Sanford was simply a teenager, entering into his last year of high school when he suddenly woke up one night with a tingling sensation in both his feet and hands. This tingling continued and escalated into severe pain and weakness to the point he couldn’t even lift his hands over his head. Immediately, his parents rushed him to the ER where diagnostic imaging tests such as CT Scans, X-Rays, and a Spinal Tap were used to reveal he had Guillain Barre Syndrome.  Guillain Barre Syndrome is a rare, autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the Peripheral Nervous System, which is responsible for controlling movement and sensation. I was eager to learn more about some of the specifics of this syndrome, so I visited the CDC’s website and examined the risk factors associated with GBS. I learned that only 1 in 100,000 individuals have GBS and that it is more prevalent in men...

A Social Determinant of Health is what you do and live everyday that directly impacts your health. Many times, we are unaware of how our environment shapes our overall health, therefore, the conditions worsen or go unresolved. For example, in the TED Talk, a patient named Veronica was asked about her home situation and whether or not she had mold, insects, and/or water leaks. After admitting to all three issues, Dr. Manchanda was able to conclude her chronic allergies and migraines were a direct result from her living situation and environment. With the help of a community specialist, they were able to do what they could to help relieve the symptoms by altering from home. In return, her chronic symptoms improved and even helped with her children’s asthma, creating an improved overall mental state for the whole family as well. Social Determinants of Health play a huge role not only in our physical health, but our cognitive/mental health as well. If an individual is living in a dangero...

As future OT Practitioners, it is important for us to understand the need and benefits of assistive devices for our clients. Clients will be able to participate more independently in daily activities and safely manage locomotion with the use of a variety of devices and equipment. When choosing equipment for a client, it is important to note their age, limitations and strengths, and overall endurance when moving around. A cane is appropriate when the client needs minimal to no assistance. Different styles of canes offer different benefits and should be carefully considered beforehand. For example, standard canes have a single base of support, while a quad cane will have multiple contacts with the floor in order to add increased support and balance. If a client needs additional support, or may need to be non weight bearing on a single lower extremity, axillary crutches would be an appropriate choice. One of the biggest limitations to crutches, however, is age due to when an individual ...

The term “mobility” is defined as having controlled instability. The order in which we are able to restore confidence in mobility based on increasing activity demands is as follows: Bed mobility, mat transfers, wheelchair transfers, bed transfers, functional ambulation for ADL’s, toilet and tub transfers, car transfer, functional ambulation, and community mobility and driving. I do believe this is a logical order once you begin to examine what an individual must do, and is able to do, in order to perform certain tasks. For example, we wouldn’t want to begin working with a patient getting out of their car when they cannot even get out of their bed safely. I do believe I have seen this approach used in much of my job shadowing experience, specifically when the therapist is working on getting the client out of the bed and then safely to the bathroom. Many times, the therapist would work consistently on getting the patient out of bed safely, and if they were able to do so, move on to the...

Posture encompasses the position of the head, limbs and trunk and ultimately allows our muscles and organs to function optimally. When discussing posture, it is also important to note the role of one’s Center of Gravity and Base of Support. It is important to keep our COG over our BOS in order to maintain postural control. The body is more stable when we have a larger BOS, or support surface, and therefore can majorly impact the way we move our body in order to reach a fixed and supported position. Here are 4 reasons why it is so crucial to teach proper posture and body mechanics to an individual, or future client, who has poor posture. 1.) Statistics show that 80% of adults will at some point experience back pain, and 90% of the time the low back pain will return or be recurrent. It is also important to note that the average age of experiencing this pain can begin as early as 30 years old. Many of these statistics could be avoided with the implementation of proper body mechanics w...

During the last SuperBowl, Budweiser put out a commercial about “typical Americans” that stuck out to me for a couple of reasons. To begin, the commercial highlights people who serve our country through the military and rescue squads, as well as sports teams that have won major titles for our country. My favorite aspect of the commercial is when advocating and petitioning is shown due to the fact that I understand the passion that goes along with fighting for something you believe in, as well as the privilege it is to live in a country that allows us to do so. For starters, I always enjoy a commercial that provokes some kind of emotion. In the case of this commercial, the feeling was immense pride and love for the country we live in. The ad also showcased the many wonderful and positive things happening in our country, rather than focusing on the negative areas and hardships. I think it’s always a sweet reminder to remind of ourselves of all the good that happens daily. The Limbic...

After reading the short story, we are encouraged to think of what a life would be like if someone lost one, or multiple, fingers. In the story “Man Down South”, a soldier is willing to bet losing one of his fingers. If this character had lost the bet, he would have an extremely difficult time completing his occupations. For example, activities for a soldier such as holding/grasping a gun or weapon, carrying equipment, exercising, and simply putting on gear might have proven to be extremely taxing, if not impossible, without the use of some adaptive equipment. As for the woman at the end of the story, it is clear that she has lost all but two of her fingers and now has to have her hair washed by someone else, indicating she has lost function of an essential ADL. We can assume she has lost the capability to perform many of her other occupations with ease including being able to drive with both hands, opening certain packaging, writing, and/or fixing her hair. Adaptive equipment such as...