Students develop skills on power equipment and learn the basics of sewing, vacuum forming plastic, and creating fine finishes in metal safely in the work environment. This course introduces the new orthotic student to the fundamentals of human musculoskeletal anatomy, which is necessary to understand in order to work effectively as an orthotics technician. Students become acquainted with the major bones and muscle groups of the body and how they relate to orthotic fitting. In addition to a general anatomical overview of the body, this course concentrates on the bones and muscles of the spine, which will apply to the spinal orthoses the student will fabricate in Course 144. Students learn how to take measurements from one another and interpret those measurements to bend and form metal to fit.
Students also learn to sew leather on specialized sewing machines.
In order to effectively control the foot and ankle orthotically, it is necessary to understand the musculoskeletal structure and function of the foot and ankle. This course presents a study of the anatomical references of the foot as well as its actions and planes of movement. In this course the orthotics student learns the componentry of shoes and how to modify, repair and correct them for orthotic use. They also fabricate two foot orthoses by casting other student's feet to develop plaster molds. The student then creates foot orthoses over the molds using soft orthopedic materials.