Casting Introducing The Gumby Technique (Visit this link)
Casting: Introducing the "Gumby" Technique Have your usual casting supplies ready plus an eight-inch length of two-inch stockinette. That’s it. Just an extra five cents’ worth of product will change your casting life! The “Gumby” Technique Prepare the additional eight-inch length of two-inch stockinette by cutting four-inch “legs” through both sides of the stockinette lengthwise. This now makes the stockinette (Figure 1) look like the animation character, Gumby. Make an additional cut on one side of the legs to allow for the difference in width between the hand and the wrist. (If Gumby had legs, this cut would be in the crotch.) Apply stockinette in the normal fashion. Then, apply the Gumby piece over the thumb (Figure 2) with the longer crotch cut out over the web space and the legs hanging on either side of the hand/wrist area. There should be no crinkles or folds in the thumb-index finger web space. If the legs are too long, they can be trimmed back or just folded smooth around the wrist area. The top of Gumby should reach over the distal tip of the thumb. Up to one inch of stockinette past the tip of the thumb is best. Trim more than that. Apply cast padding (Figure 3), as you usually do, covering the legs of Gumby on either side (palmar and dorsum) of the wrist. This anchors Gumby to the arm. Start folding Gumby (Figure 3) making the first fold down the thumb to the DIP joint. Then make a second fold (Figure 4) spreading the stockinette out around the base of the thumb. Be sure to spread it out as far as possible smoothing it as you go. You should have two layers of stockinette covering the cast padding all around the base of the thumb reaching almost to the midline of the anterior and posterior aspect (Figure 5) of the hand and wrist. Cast as you usually do, being sure to incorporate the Gumby folds around the base of the thumb (Figures 6 and 7) under your casting material. If you have followed the instructions correctly, you have a cast where no padding is accessible to the patient around the base of the thumb. It is completely covered by stockinette. You now have a beautiful finished edge around the thumb.
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Added: Thu Feb 02 2006
