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Instrument Size - Please think about it!

Discussion in 'General Issues and Discussion Forum' started by prosharp, Aug 27, 2017.

  1. prosharp

    prosharp Active Member


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    Over the years I have spoken to numerous Podiatrists both young in the early stages of their careers and older heading toward retirement. I also give a presentation each year at Newcastle University discussing instrument care and selection with the final year podiatry students who are just starting out.

    It is a little frightening to think that many of these individuals are destined to have a problem with RSI (repetitive strain injury) or OOS (occupational overuse syndrome) resulting from a variety of causes, but think nothing about it when they are commencing their occupation. Both RSI and OOS can deteriorate enough over time that some podiatrists may only be able to work part time in order to manage the condition, particularly in later years.

    At the conferences and at the University we showcase a range of instruments with different size handles and cutting heads as not all of the instrument sizes suit everyone with women, in particular needing smaller instruments. Most students doing work experience don’t get a choice of instruments and find only the large 15cm instruments available which can introduce them to sore hands and wrists early in their career. A lot of podiatrists have never handled smaller instruments and have not considered this avenue to assist with the problem, they have just carried on with what is available where ever they work.

    As this is a very debilitating condition, it is worth gauging the size of your hand and considering if smaller instruments may help now and in the future. When I attended the Nation Podiatry Conference in Melbourne recently, many people with smaller hands purchased the 13cm instruments which they said just felt more comfortable in their hands. This must surely help ward off some future problem. I am not saying that this will solve the problem entirely but may alleviate it to some extent. Please do give it some thought.

    We have an online store – prosharppodiatry.com - where we have 3 different sizes available in most of the styles other than the double action clippers where we have 2 sizes available with a 3rd size being manufactured in the near future.
     
  2. efuller

    efuller MVP

    I have thought about instrument size. For cutting tools, like scissors or nippers, the length of the tool matters for leverage to create force at the cutting surface. The shorter the distance from hinge to where the hand applies force, the harder the operator will have to squeeze harder to create the same force at the jaws.

    For an instrument to be to big the handles have to be so far apart that the fingers can't wrap around them to get a good squeeze. It is a little harder to control the location of tips of longer instruments. Shorter instruments are certainly better when working in tight spaces.
     
  3. prosharp

    prosharp Active Member

    Hi efuller yes that is correct about different instruments and the length of the handles giving extra leverage.The dimensions of the smaller instruments can mean that the head is smaller to a degree as well so it is not only the handles that are smaller.The smaller instruments do have slightly shorter handles giving less force at the tips but the fact that you can get a better and more comfortable grip on the instrument almost counteracts this disadvantage of leverage.The difference between 15cm and 13 cm instruments is not very much and it is possible to select some styles that have handles and heads that give maximium leverage even in the smaller instruments.As l mentioned previously we are in the process of developing a 13cm double action clipper and this is where the leverage difference really shows up.Double action definitely gives an easier cut that single action.I will be posting more articles in the future about all of this.
    regards
    Gary
     
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