This session was conducted in the Marjon Sports Therapy Clinic for 1 hour. In this session, I massaged the clients calf.
Reflective Summary
Subsequent to washing my hands and setting up the work station, I asked the client if they had any of the contraindications, and checked for any allergies. Within the observation, it was clear that the client has a greater muscle mass on their right calf, however they both felt tender and the client experienced some ‘achey’ pain during palpation. To begin, I did efflurage for around 5 minutes to warm aid blood flow. Following this, I did some deeper work to relive some of the tension, using the petrissage techniques; kneading, wringing and lifting, for around 15 minutes. Subsequently, I used the techniques tapotements, including beating, hacking and cupping for around 5 minutes. To finish, I did 5 minutes of efflurage. This was performed on both legs.
Areas for Improvement
Within this session, I was asked about the reasons for performing tapotements, however I had a limited understanding. As well as this, due to client positioning, I felt as though I hadn’t massaged the medial muscles of the calf enough, whereas I had been able to get deep into the lateral gastrocemius and peroneals.
What can I do next?
- Look into the physiology of tapotements.
- Ensure I am massaging the entire affected area, even if this is at an awkward angle.