Judith Filc
 
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Fingers

10/6/2021

4 Comments

 
​As part of my rehab, I have to do exercises with my left hand: I have to relearn to move my wrist and open my fingers. This means that the muscles in charge of extending my fingers (the extensors) have to learn to obey my brain’s command to tighten. This means doing ten reps of the same exercise: relax my fingers; once they are beginning to relax, pull them very slowly with my right hand, and combine relaxing with pulling until I feel resistance from my left fingers; then, let go of these fingers and wait for them to close; and make a tight fist.
Since my injury, the extensors have been paralyzed, which has let the flexors (the muscles in charge of bending the fingers, in other words, of closing the hand) take over. As a result, the flexors have been dominating my hand’s movements. Yet, thanks to the action of a splinter that we’ve been placing on and off, my fingers have gone from totally to partially closed. So, this exercise is a dynamic between pulling to the outside to open the fingers, and pulling to the inside to close them.
I think of it as a battle between the right and left fingers; the right fingers want to pull the left to the outside, but the left resist. Both enemies are determined to win – it’s a battle to the death. To teach my fingers to open and thus be able to grab things (which would make it possible to do almost anything, from cooking to reaching a bottle of shampoo), I have to strengthen the extensors gradually. That way, they will take over my fingers’ movements and the victory of the right fingers will be assured.
Kelly, my former occupational therapist, came over to assess my (limited) progress and device new exercises that would help my arm movements improve. When she came, she referred me to Sabashni, one of her colleagues from the time she used to work in New York, whom she recommended warmly. Eric and I called Sabashni, and she agreed to help me. I went to her office on Saturday, and she was pleased with what she saw. So now she will teach me and Tammy, my nurse aid, new exercises to improve the movements of my left arm and hand. Then, I will do endless repetitions of these exercises, and the right fingers will triumph.
4 Comments
July Chaneton
10/8/2021 05:21:27 pm

Querida Judy, hace poco titulaste "Actitud" a un texto de esta serie. El presente capítulo muestra cuán rápido a cambiado tu actitud ante los ejercicios. ¡Ahora dan lugar al género aventura! "Las batallas entre los extensores y los dedos". Aparece tu imaginación en la terapia. Nos gusta. Más aún, nos alegra mucho la movilización relatada en el párrafo final: Kelly, Sabashni, Tammy, Eric y Judy hacia el triunfo de los dedos derechos.




Reply
judith filc
10/9/2021 03:36:58 pm

¡Gracias July! tus comentarios son estimulantes, como siempre

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Carolina Aguerre
10/17/2021 05:09:52 am

Judy querida me encanta leerte: hay una fuerza increíble en esta prosa medida para evocar este movimiento de los dedos que es fascinante.

Reply
judith filc
10/17/2021 05:59:06 am

Muchísimas gracias, Caro, por leerlo y por tus comentarios,

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