Get Your Tickets to the Gun Show

"Great ideas originate in the muscles." - Thomas A. Edison

Look at those biceps!!  From this picture, it should be plainly obvious that I passed all of my manual muscle tests with flying colors.  5 out of 5 in all categories...thank you very much.  Okay, I will be honest, a 5 out of 5 is pretty much what every functioning human being scores.  It is actually only described as normal, there is nothing there that indicates superhuman strength.  It was a very short day of school - which was such a nice break from the crazy, long week we have had.  A two hour lecture explaining the importance of performing these manual muscle tests on our future patients and then spending another hour performing them on each other.  The tests are pretty basic and pretty self-explanatory.  I hold your arm and you try and straighten it while I try to keep it bent.  You flex your knee while I do my best to keep it pushed down.  The toughest one seemed so silly, but it was to test plantar flexion of the foot.  To be considered normal, you have to stand on one leg and fully raise up onto your toe 25 times in a row!!  I managed to do it, but I have a feeling my right calf is going to be sore tomorrow - I really gotta start working on those!!  I think it seems a little crazy that doing that 25 times is the minimum to be considered normal.  Try it tonight, it is tougher than you think.

So, all in all, a pretty basic day - nothing crazy to report and not a whole lot of prosthetics information.  The update on Mr. R is that he finally decided to answer his phone this morning and we are hoping he will come in at some point next week and I will be able to have him walk in my leg in front of my professors to do my critique.  Today definitely was a nice mental break from the stressful week and just the craziness that ensued every single day.  The schedule for next week looks insane and we are casting new patients to start making more trans-tibial sockets...only this time around (because we are very experienced in having made one socket already) we do not get three weeks to get these done.  We cast next week and then the following week are presenting them in critique.  Sounds like a lot of long days, a lot of plaster and many hours spent in the grinding room for me next week.  Oh, did I mention I have to complete my 22 hour online clinical education unit test this weekend?  No rest for the weary.