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The Soldier's Pinky

If the soldier lost the bet, he was to lose his pinky. Although the pinky is the smallest finger, it still plays an important role in our daily activities. Without the pinky, our grasps would not be as efficient. To grasp something small, the pinky wraps tightly around the object to prevent it from slipping out of the hand. The pinky is involved in spherical, power, hook, and cylindrical grips. Without the pinky's help with these grips, it would be more difficult and cause greater use of the four remaining fingers. 
An occupation that would be affected if the soldier lost his pinky thumb would be fighting in war. It would be difficult for him to accurately aim the gun to hit his intended target. He would have less stabilization than he would with all his fingers intact. Also, guns are heavy and without the pinky it would be more work on the other fingers to hold tightly to the gun. To adapt this difficulty for the soldier, he could use a gun that is on a stand. If he did not have to hold the gun, it would be easier for him to accurately hit the target because he would not have to take into account the weight of the gun. By having the gun on a mount, the soldier's grip would not be greatly affected since the weight of the gun is not  only in the soldier's hand.

As future occupational therapists, we must be ready to think outside the box to create adaptations that will meet the needs of each individual to take part in their meaningful daily occupations.

Comments

  1. OMWPMay 11, 2019 at 6:11 PM

    Great idea! He could learn to fire a canon instead of a rifle! :-)

    ReplyDelete

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Logan and I on our first day of OT school.

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