Stephanie L.

Save a Joint is now beginning the second stage on creating a protection device for the elbow. We have already learned, and dissected the wing of chicken to gain knowledge about the elbow. Now we are creating a replica of the actual elbow joint to have a closer look, and a better understanding of how the elbow is.

Currently the Save a Joint progression if going well, we are not behind. I am working with the same group that I was with last semester, and I like my team, because we all get along so well, and we are able to get the job done. We all have different ideas, and when we brainstorm, we try to incorporate everyone’s ideas and making into one, which shows good team work.

Save a Joint is creating a protection for the elbow joint, for anyone who plays roller derby. Roller derby can get very physical, and participants most likely fall and hurt their elbow as they go down.  The joint our group received is the elbow. The wrist was our first choice, but we also had the option to choose the elbow, and we went in that direction. The elbow is an important joint on our body it allows for flexion and extension at a 180 degree angle to occur in our arm, and we feel that protection would be very helpful. Participating in roller derby is risky, injuries could happen. According to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association surveyed 1070 skater injuries in 2007. Most were concussions, and injuries relating to the arm like the elbow.

During the past class, and today, Save a Joint is making a proportional model of an elbow. We first took the arm of the skeleton, and see how the bones are, where the cartilage is located, and the elbow is able to extend.  With prior knowledge form the chicken dissection lab, I believe that it helped a lot. If we haven’t done it, I believe my group would have done whatever, and if the model bends then it’s an elbow, but now that we have gained more knowledge from the dissection lab, we pay attention to more details. We look where the muscles, the tendons, and the ligament are located. The elbow joint is almost done; it just needs a few details like adding the tendons and the ligaments. It is likely that we would be completely done by next class. But the elbow bends properly like it should, it was challenging to do so because, the humerus and ulna didn’t want to stick together, and bend without breaking off,  but my teammate decided to uses wire from pipe cleaners, and it worked well. . We also have added the ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cartilage attaching to the bone structure. My group is making the model very precise as a real elbow, because with a good model, we have a good example on how the elbow protection should fit, and move around the elbow. Overall Save a Joint is working creatively, and the elbow joint model is almost completed.