This session was undertaken in the Marjon Sports Therapy Clinic for 1 hour. The client had pain during extension in their right quadriceps.
Reflective Summary
The work station was cleared and I washed my hands. Upon the clients arrival, I observed the way they walked. I was clear their right leg was slightly uncomfortable when walking. I observed and palpated the quadriceps, and muscles around the hip. The quadriceps felt tender. I assessed the clients range of movement including flexion, extension, medial rotation, lateral rotation (of the knee and hip), abduction, and adduction (off the hip). During knee extension, it was clear that whilst they were able to complete the full range of movement, they were going through a painful arc. In order to improve this, I performed a soft tissue massage on the quadriceps to relieve tension. Prior to doing this, I palpated the joints and bony landmarks and looked for bruising and swelling to ensure it was most probably delayed onset muscle soreness. In which, it can be suggested that is was. To begin, I did efflurage until the blood rose to the surface. Following this, I did some deeper, slower petrissage to work the muscles and relieve tension. To finish off, I did another 5 minutes of efflurage.
Following this, I did soft tissue release on the quadriceps, to stretch and relieve further tension in the muscles. Throughout the massage and the soft tissue release, I ensured to have lots of communication with the client regarding pain (VAS) and pressure. After this, I asked the client to perform their range of movement again, and it had improved.
Areas for Improvement
When doing petrissage, the client had to say once that the pressure was too much.
What can I do next?
- Check the pressure with the client early on to ensure I am not causing too much pain.