Article Review 2: Adapted Equipment

Article review one: Adapted Equipment.

Name of article: The effect of eating utensil weight on functional arm movement in people with Parkinson’s disease: a controlled clinical trial.

Name of journal: Clinical Rehabilitation 2009

Name of author(s): Hui-Ing Ma, Wen-Juh Hwang, Pei-Luen Tsai, and Yung-Wen Hsu

When and how did you locate this article? I located this article on November ^3rd 2012 and I found it through ebscohost.

Two paragraph synopsis of what you learned in this article:

This article is about a study that was done with people who have Parkinson’s disease. The study aimed to find if there are benefits of using a lighter utensil when eating for people with Parkinson’s disease. For this study they used 18 people who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and 18 people in the same age matched controls. They then used three spoons with different weights and proceeded to measure the maximum grip strength.

The study found that the participants with Pakrinsons were able to move the lighter spoon faster and with more ease. They also, as expected, found that they had to exert for power (strength) with the heavier spoon. They also concluded that the people with Parkinson’s had smoother arm movements when using the light utensil

How will you apply this knowledge to your professional development?  I will use this knowledge in my professional development by remembering to utilize simple adaptions that don’t need to cost extra money. Simply buying lighter utensil will help can help certain participants and will also work just fine for participants that don’t need the adaption.

Would you recommend this article for other TR students?  Why or why not?  Yes, because they will likely be in similar job situations to me and knowing simple fixes such as a lighter spoon will help them be more innovative and won’t hurt their budget!