In applying PNF to increase use of the right upper extremity after right-side weakness, which activity best promotes a diagonal movement pattern?

In applying PNF to increase use of the right upper extremity after right-side weakness, which activity best promotes a diagonal movement pattern?

• A. Use both hands together to pour juice from a heavy pitcher into a glass on a countertop
• B. Reach overhead with the right hand to retrieve a dish from a higher cabinet and set it down on the counter in front
• C. Take items out of the dishwasher on the right side and reach across the body to place them in the upper cabinet on the opposite side
• D. Reach to the right side to retrieve an item out of the refrigerator at hip height and place it into the left hand to set it on the counter to the left

Answer: (C)

PNF emphasizes diagonal movement patterns that cross the body and involve trunk rotation to engage the shoulder and arm in a coordinated, functional arc. The best activity is the one that requires reaching across the body with the functional (weaker) arm to place items on the opposite side, which recreates a D1/D2-type diagonal pattern. Taking items from the dishwasher on the right and reaching across to put them away in the upper cabinet on the opposite side forces the arm to move diagonally through space, engaging multiple joints and the core, and mirrors how people often use their arms in daily tasks after a stroke or weakness. In contrast, tasks that are purely bilateral and symmetrical (pouring with both hands) or mainly vertical or straight-line (overhead reach on the same side) do not promote the same diagonal, cross-midline pattern. The option that involves simply reaching to the right and transferring to the left side may involve cross-body movement but does not promote the same diagonal arc and trunk-rotating pattern as the cross-body reach to place items on the opposite side.

PNF emphasizes diagonal movement patterns that cross the body and involve trunk rotation to engage the shoulder and arm in a coordinated, functional arc. The best activity is the one that requires reaching across the body with the functional (weaker) arm to place items on the opposite side, which recreates a D1/D2-type diagonal pattern. Taking items from the dishwasher on the right and reaching across to put them away in the upper cabinet on the opposite side forces the arm to move diagonally through space, engaging multiple joints and the core, and mirrors how people often use their arms in daily tasks after a stroke or weakness.

In contrast, tasks that are purely bilateral and symmetrical (pouring with both hands) or mainly vertical or straight-line (overhead reach on the same side) do not promote the same diagonal, cross-midline pattern. The option that involves simply reaching to the right and transferring to the left side may involve cross-body movement but does not promote the same diagonal arc and trunk-rotating pattern as the cross-body reach to place items on the opposite side.