Practicality of Using a Ladle for Sock Folding in Hemiplegic Patients

Abstract

Purpose: Folding socks can be difficult for patients who rely on only one hand. We hypothesized that through the following procedure, patients could easily fold their socks even with just one hand. First, place the rounded part of a ladle between the leg and the chair. Then, stack the pair of socks on top of each other. Put your finger through the opening of the upper sock and hold up the lower sock. Finally, place the sock on the tip of the handle, and pull your fingers down. The aim of this study was to compare how hemiplegic patients fold socks using the flip and tuck method through the folding motion with and without a ladle, to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique in folding socks.

Method: Forty hemiplegic patients participated in this study. After being instructed on how to fold a sock with and without a ladle, participants performed the folding motion using the flip and tuck method with one hand. After the experiment, it was determined whether the participants had successfully folded the socks, and the ease of folding was subjectively evaluated. Moreover, the folding time was measured using the captured video footage.

Results: When the ladle was used, all participants succeeded in folding the socks. The motion was easier and the folding time was significantly shorter when using a ladle than when not using a ladle.

Discussion: Using a ladle to fold socks is a practical method for hemiplegic patients.