Can we live without our pinky?

Consider how the daily routine and the occupations of the soldier in the story might change if he lost the bet. Also think about what the daily occupations of the wife of the man betting against the soldier might look like. In a blog post, and assuming the soldier loses the bet, identify an occupation that is likely to be impacted in either character. Why will this occupation be affected, and what is one modification (equipment and/or strategy) that might help the solider or the wife to regain independence in that particular occupation? Be creative

I personally feel that if the soldier would have lost his pinky finger (little finger) he would have lost a lot of his gripping ability. According to gross anatomy and biomechanics, the little finger helps with opposition and people’s ability to physically grasp at certain things. He would also lose his ability to rotate, especially in ulnar rotation. Essentially, the pinky teams up with the ring finger and they both assist with providing power to the hand. As we know there are four different types of power grips (spherical, cylindrical, power, hook) and they all include the little finger.  If the soldier in the story were to have lost his pinky, he would not be able to make a fist or hold on to any object sturdily. This could be a huge problem since he is usually at combat and is required to hold different types of equipment and gear. The lost of his pinky could also make his every-day tasks and iADLs very difficult. Of course, I don’t know him personally, but if he was a morning coffee drinker, it would be very hard for him to hold onto his cup or mug because his power source and gripping ability would be gone. It would also be challenging for him to even turn his door knob when leaving/entering his house or any place that has closed doors due to his lack of ulnar rotation. The occupation that stands out to me as the biggest problem for him would be his lack of ability to properly hold a gun or even fire it.

As previously stated, the pinky is a major power source and grasper. If the soldier in the story lost his little finger, it would enable him from holding his gun correctly and he would not have the hand strength to tolerate the “kick back” of the gun once it was fired. I also learned that people who have amputated fingers seem to have hypersensitivity in the tendons in their hand, especially in cold conditions or climates. According to different findings, it causes their tendons to “freeze” up or become immobile. So, if the soldier were to have to fight in cold weather, he would not be able to hold or shoot the gun properly due to hypersensitivity and his loss of grip power. However, there are a couple of different types of equipment that could be used in order for him to gain some, if not all, of his function back.  

The first type of prosthetic that could be used for the soldier is a body-powered partial hand prosthesis. This type of equipment gets its function or movement based off the force exerted by the wrist or the rest of the hand.  Basically, the soldier would have a prosthetic limb on top of the region where his little finger used to be; and the force or the ability to move that limb would come from the rest of his hand or his wrist. Another form or type of prosthetic that would be beneficial is called an activity specific partial hand prosthesis. This type of prosthesis is designed for people who work or play sports or anything that is physical manual labor. It ensures that this equipment helps them with their hand strength and allows them to grip heavy objects, which I think is important for the soldier to have so that he can grip/grasp his gun correctly and tolerate the “kick back” of the gun once fired.  

To learn more about different prosthesis or even learn about the different changes your hand endures when there is an amputated finger, there are a couple of websites I posted at the bottom. Check them out!

https://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/partial-hand-amputations/

https://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/partial-hand-prostheses/