25/02/19- Open clinic

25/02/19

open clinic

1 hour

What happened during this session:

During this session, I start by filling out a consultation form for my client which took up around 15 minutes of the session collecting personal information, history of the present condition, previous medical history, red flags, contraindications and make observations and use palpations. My client had LBP (lower back pain) and therefore during observation and palpation I tested mobility and ROM (range of movement) in the lumbar spine, tested alignment of the PSIS (posterior superior iliac spine) applied pressure and checked for swelling, bruising, muscle bulk, wasting etc. After completing the objective and subjective assessments I moved on to the treatment of the client which included massaging the lower back using effleurage and petrissage techniques to help relieve pain and tension in this area. During this session, I was paired with another sports rehabilitator and we worked on one half of the back each which was difficult however, we adapted to the situation and made it work. Throughout the session, our lecturer was walking around the clinic and asking us questions about what we were doing, why we were doing it and how it would be beneficial to the client. I feel that this helped us to improve as it prompted us on techniques that we could do to help benefit the client more.

Areas for improvement:

Toweling techniques and using the divider:

My client was not confident taking her clothes off in the open clinic and therefore I needed to put the divider up and use my toweling techniques, as we usually have clients who don’t mind this situation I was not used to needing to use these techniques and equipment and had to ask a lecturer the best place to put the divider so that the client had privacy. This is a skill that can be improved by practicing it when treating clients I am familiar with so when working with clients I don’t know well I am more confident in this area.

Considerations:

When doing my objective and subjective assessments I did not take into account that LBP can be due to tight hamstrings and this is something that I could test for in the next session. In preparation for the next session, I have done some research on how tight hamstrings relate to lower back pain and how to test this in the client. For the next session,  I will apply the knowledge I have learnt from the following references to the session to help benefit my client.

References from further reading:

I did some research about the hamstrings and how they could be so tight that they are causing lower back pain, however the information that I found on the hip flexors, mobility, and lower back pain was very interesting and therefore the 3 following references are on that information that I will interpret into my next session with this client.

  1. Nourbacksh, M. R., & Arab, A. M. (2002). Relationship between mechanical factors and incidence of low back pain. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 32(9),  447-460.
  2. Dolan, P., & Adams, M. A. (1993). Influence of lumbar and hip mobility on the bending stresses acting on the lumbar spine. Clinical Biomechanics, 8(4), 185-192.

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