Just got home from Kalmar. I needed a break after the Physiology 2 exam, and unfortunately, I have a retake coming up in 3 parts.
Tomorrow is our first palpation lesson. For those who don't know what "palpation" is, let me explain. These are practical lessons where we feel osteological structures, such as the "Crista Iliaca," which is the top of the hip bone. After that, we move on to the muscles, their fiber directions, and their locations on the body. We are required to bring shorts and a sports bra with a clasp to change into during the lesson. The dress code has been a bit tricky to follow, as I don't own one and haven't been able to find a sports bra with a clasp.
The lesson at the School of Naprapathy started early at 8:00 AM, which meant I got up at 5:45 AM. I skipped breakfast, but bringing coffee was essential. Erik, who I live with in Nacka, was the smart one and made a sandwich at home. I ended up buying one on the way for 29 SEK, since I got back to Nacka the day before yesterday.
Once there, we girls talked about the dress code—the sports bra with a clasp. Apparently, most of us had a hard time finding one. I was tired, ate my sandwich, and drank my coffee before we headed to class.
The teacher went through how to examine a body before starting the palpation. Among other things, you need to look for bruises and moles that could be considered harmful. You also need to check if anything on the person looks uneven, or if one arm is longer than the other—anything that is simply abnormal.
Taking off my clothes in front of my classmates felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but once we got started, I forgot that all the guys were shirtless and the girls were in sports bras. We all have bodies, and personally, I didn't think much more about it. We were told to think of each other as patients, not as the friends we sit next to in the classroom.
When the palpation began, we had an odd number of students, so there were three of us in my group. I actually thought that was mostly positive because it allowed us to discuss and articulate what we "thought" we were finding. We were supposed to locate L5 (lumbar vertebra no. 5) by feeling the vertebrae and sliding down to the next one. It was harder than we thought. The sensitivity in our fingers simply needs to be trained... After that, we were to find the processus transversus, which are the bony projections on the vertebrae, and then move upwards. In my group, we first tried using just one finger—the index finger—but we concluded that using two, the middle and index fingers, made it a bit easier. It allows you to feel the shape of the bone better.
Best regards,
Naprapathy student, Year 1
