mOTivation with mikayla

Implicit bias is a large pill no one wants to swallow, or talk about. Why?  Implicit biases are the  stereotypes of  certain groups of people that are  imbedded in us and in society. We all want to believe we are innately fair, but sometimes our initial feelings and thoughts about certain people are not all that fair or equal. Having implicit biases does not make us bad, it makes us human. As humans, we only know what we know based on our own experiences and perceptions, and it's from these experiences that we unconsciously make assumptions about people. With the simple realization that our brain is compiling old and new experiences and feelings all the time, we can override the unconscious segregated filing in our brain. It's important for OT students and practitioners to learn about implicit bias because we will  see a diverse group of individuals in fieldworks as students and in specific settings as practitioners, and we are expected to give the best serv...

The shoulder joint is a complex joint with the most mobility in the body. This joint is commonly known for being made up of the glenoid fossa and the head of the humerus, but what is not commonly known is the profound effect the surrounding structures have on the motions of the shoulder.  Specifically, the scapulohumeral rhythm  is  extremely important for upper extremity movement . This is the  interconnected distribution of movement between the scapula and humerus that allows for full ROM at the GH joint.   For roughly every 3° of shoulder movement, the scapula moves 1° at the ST joint and the humerus moves 2° at the GH joint. Because of this relationship, if the scapula has limited ROM, then the shoulder will also have limited ROM. For example, if the scapula cannot upwardly rotate or posteriorly tilt, then motions that occur above the head are extremely limited. Motions like these, shoulder elevation, flexion, and abduction, are imperative for daily o...

As occupational therapists, our goal is to facilitate independent engagement in occupations meaningful and important to our clients. In order to assess occupational functioning ability, we must assess the mobility of the joints as well as the strength and endurance of the muscles involved via assessing range of motion (ROM) and performing manual muscle tests (MMT).  It is important to use specific bony landmarks and proper positioning when measuring ROM.  For clinical purposes, any therapist who is measuring mobility at a certain joint should be able to easily find these landmarks and yield similar and accurate measurements, increasing inter-rater reliability. Consistent and proper positioning of the client and the joints being measured will not only increase accuracy of the measurements, but also should abide by the safety precautions relevant to that client. Clients that we see will most likely already be in pain, so positioning the client and the joint correc...

Every morning, the first thing I do is drink a glass of water. From the point that I grasp the glass of water to actually bringing the glass of water to my mouth in order to take a drink, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. The action starts with my elbow in a slightly flexed position, my wrist in a slightly extended position, and my fingers flexed around the glass of water. As I bring the glass to my mouth, my elbow ends in full or near full flexed position, my shoulder in a slightly flexed position, my wrist is still in an extended position, and my fingers will flexed around the glass of water. Let's look at one specific joint in the action of drinking a glass of water. The osteokinematics of the elbow joint for this activity is flexion going from mid-range flexion (about 90°) to full or near full flexion (about 145°) in an open kinematic chain. The prime mover of elbow flexion is the biceps brachii, which performs a concentric contraction in the sagittal plane about a co...

I think what Dr. Will Ross, a Memphis-native physician, was speaking about during his interview with UTHSC needs to be heard by everyone in the health care field. Dr. Ross talks about health equity, which aligns in my mind with occupational justice. He said that everyone has the right to and is entitled to achieving their highest health potential. It is easy to look at a person where they stand and think you understand them, but there are countless social and physical determinants, or potential barriers, to each and every person behind the scenes. As individuals, we may not have the power to change the availability of services, but we do have a duty to provide the most quality, effective, and culturally- humiliated services to anyone who walks in the door. We must also consider the definition of health, which is more than just the absence of disease, but rather a combination of physical health, mental health, and social well-being. With that being said, everyone everywhere has the r...