A Risky Pinky Promise
Have you ever made a bet that your regretted? A soldier from the short story "Man of the South" bet his very own pinky finger. In fact, his exact words were "Come to think of it, I can't remember ever in my life having had any use for the little finger on my left hand."
Believe it or not, the pinky finger plays a large role in many daily activities. A total of nine muscles control the pinky finger, allowing it to flex, extend, adduct, and abduct. The largest impact would come from loss of grip strength. Specifically for the solider, he would experience difficulty holding heavy artillery and equipment for long periods of time. He may also experience difficulty in getting dressed and tying/untying his shoes. Lastly, he may experience difficulty in writing, typing, and holding utensils. Nevertheless, there are many effective tools and strategies an OT could implement into the soldier's recovery program.
One example of adaptive equipment would be a partial hand prosthetic. Depending on where the pinky was removed, a prosthetic sleeve may be applicable. Additionally, I mentioned earlier the soldier may experience difficulty with grip and grip strength. There are several modified handles that could be applied to the soldier's utensils and equipment that reduce the stress placed on his remaining fingers. These adaptive devices would lead to the outcome of "engagement in occupation." They would allow the soldier to participate in activities despite his limitations.
Although there are many challenges that result from losing one finger, the difficulty increases with the loss of many fingers. Toward the end of the short story, we learn about a woman whose hand was missing all but one of her fingers and a thumb. Her loss of grip strength would be severe, and she would face great difficulty in grabbing and holding objects. This would cause challenges in getting dressed (i.e. buttons, zippers, putting on a belt), eating with utensils, drinking from a cup, brushing her hair and teeth, and many more. The same adaptive equipment I mentioned for the solider could benefit the woman as well. A prosthetic would provide an increase in grasping and overall hand function. Assuming she has all of the fingers on her other hand, using a cup with a handle would be especially beneficial. This would allow her to drink from a cup without using both hands.
In conclusion, all parts of our body serve a purpose, no matter their size. Each time we lose function within a particular body part, we must adapt and search for alternative methods of action!
Great post! I like how you went into specifics on how the pinky finger functions. Many people think that since it is such a small finger, loosing it would not effect them much. I agree that the biggest impact of loosing the pinky finger would be grip function. Grip function is essential when picking up anything. It may not seem like you need grip strength to pick something up, but it is certainly an essential function of daily life. I think a prosthetic is a great adaptive device. These can be expensive but would be worth the money in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAllison this is nice post. I liked the mentioning of the prothesis and I thought that was a good suggestion, especially for the wife. The addition of modified handles to utensils was also a good mention for the soldier.
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