This session took place court side to the Plymouth Raiders practise session.

To begin, I conducted the warm-up, ensuring I gave more coaching techniques for every exercise. Afterwards, I told the players that were complaining of being bored of the warm-up that the head therapist said we are looking at developing a new one for the new year. During this practise, one player came to me complaining of pain in his left glutes. I asked if he was experiencing any pins and needles or numbness or any lower back pain, to which he said no. Upon palpation it felt as though he had some tightness, so I did a soft tissue release on his glutes court side before he continued playing. He explained that his pain decreased after giving him this treatment. When performing this treatment, due to the fact it was on the floor and not on a bed I struggled to get as much pressure as I would have liked when giving the soft tissue release. Next time, I will work on getting into a better position to be able to apply enough pressure if I have to perform this court side again.

This session took place in the Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Clinic.

Within this session, I had 3 players asked for some prep for their game they had later on that day. All 3 players wanted a massage and stretch to their quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. By the time I got to the 3rd player, he told me that he wanted me to apply more pressure during the massage. However, due to the fact I was so tired, I was really struggling. Upon reflection, the 3rd player didn’t get as good of a treatment as the other 2 players, so, it is important that I don’t take on too much work all at once if it means I won’t be able to perform effectively for every player. Next time, I will make sure another therapist is free when there is more than 2 players wanting this much treatment done.

This session took place court side to the Plymouth Raiders practise session.

To begin, I put the bands out ready for the warm-up to begin to ensure efficiency. After completing the warm-up, I had a few players come over to be explaining that they are bored of this current warm up. I told them I would pass the information on to the head therapist to see what we could do. Whilst sitting court side watching out for injuries, I sorted the medical bag to ensure it was tidy and everything was clear and easy to see. One player got scratched on the hand by another whilst playing and was bleeding. So, I pulled the player to the side, cleaned the blood and applied imperium jelly to stop the bleeding. This is something I also had to do nearer the beginning of the season. I remember then being nervous to pull the player, however this time, I did so with confidence which I think also rubbed off on the player. The first time round, I thought the player might think its unnecessary to do anything for such a small injury, and that is also the impression I got from them whilst applying the imperium jelly. However, because this time I did so with such confidence, I feel as though the player didn’t second guess what I was doing at all.

This session took place in the Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Clinic.

After practise, I was invited to observe the assessment of the injured player in clinic. During the assessment, I learnt how to approach a client who has an injury in an awkward area, and how to assess the groin itself. Throughout the assessment, the head therapist asked me anatomical questions to aid my learning, and also quizzed me on the assessment of the hip. I found this hour very useful, as I got to witness the assessment of an injury in a very professional manor. I took notes throughout to ensure I didn’t forget any information I was being told/I observed.

Within the second hour in the clinic, a player was complaining of delayed onset muscle soreness in their quadriceps. So, I gave the player a soft tissue massage, followed by soft tissue release on their quadriceps. As this player comes to me a lot about their DOMS, I then showed the player some stretches they can do after lifting weights, and how to foam roll correctly at home, in the clinic or in the gym. Within this session, I felt very professional being able to offer them something they can do regularly without having to see me to reduce their DOMS.

This session took place court side to the Plymouth Raiders practise session.

At this session, the head sports therapist was also present. At the beginning of the session, I delivered the warm-up as per usual and received some feedback from the head sports therapist. He explained that I was very enthusiastic and engaging and do a good job at making the players pay attention and preventing procrastination. However, he also stated that I could improve my coaching techniques, through giving more technique adjustments such as ‘keep your bums down’ in plank position. I found this very useful and I am looking forward to applying it next session. During practise, one of the players fell to the floor after injuring his groin. The head therapist and I ran over, he spoke to the player to calm him down and I ran to the clinic to get ice. Upon my return, we managed to get him up off of the floor and to sit on the bench. During this time, I was mainly observing the way the lead therapist dealt with this situation, having never come across a groin injury before, and took instruction from him. During this time, I felt I learned a lot to do with the way to handle players in significant pain when on the court, and how to aid them recovering from their shock.

This session took place in the Marjon Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Clinic.

Within this session, I went through a player’s rehabilitation with them for their patella tendinopathy due to their lack of motivation they are currently experiencing. So, within this session, whilst the player already knows what he is doing, I decided to make it more instructional, telling him what exercise to do and when with a demonstration. To aid motivation, I counted through the reps, and used motivational language such as ‘nearly there’ and ‘you’re doing good’ to aid his performance and to increase his motivation. Whilst doing the rehabilitation, the player seemed to enjoy himself and explained afterwards that he much prefers doing his rehabilitation in this kind of setting, with an instructor. It felt nice to feel wanted and needed by a player, and to get some positive feedback. Throughout the weeks, I am definitely creating more of a rapport with the players, and they are truly beginning to put their trust into me, allowing me to do more as a therapist and to have more trust in myself.

These hours took place in the Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation clinic. Within the first hour, I conducted a SCAT test to the individual from practiser who experienced a hit to the head, to which it seemed the player had a lot of concussion like symptoms. I took the SCAT to the head sports therapist who was working on the gym floor, and suggested that he may have a concussion. The player later went to A&E due to also experiencing neck pain, to make sure everything was ok. After the SCAT test, the player wanted to lie down for a while, so I got him some water and he lied down on the clinic bed with a towel over his face to block out the light due to his heightened sensitivity. This was my first instance dealing with a serious first response to an injured athlete. After learning a lot about head injuries within one module, I felt confident in taking this individual through the correct phases.

Within the second hour of this session, I had a player ask me to stretch his hip and he felt as though he had limited range of movement in external rotation. Upon assessment, it seemed his right hip had less range of movement than his left hip in external rotation. So, I conducted post isometric relaxation to improve the players range of movement. Following this, the player then requested a massage due to tightness in his upper back and shoulders. It seemed he had a lot of tension in his upper fibres of trapezius, however after the massage he stated that he felt a lot better. Getting positive feedback from players is something I really enjoy, as it enforces that I am doing a good job. Due to the fact some of these players are professional, or if they aren’t, they are playing for a professional team, sometimes it can feel intimidating, especially when they have most likely dealt with some amazing therapists in their past.

This session took place court side to the Plymouth Raiders basketball practise.

Within this session, I followed the motion of the previous practise in terms of beginning the session. I laid the bands out in the starting position, and when it turned to the starting time, I asked the coach if I should go ahead and lead the warmup. The warm-up ran smoothly, and players listened well to instruction, potentially because they are getting to know my face better and therefore have more trust in me. Following this, I set on the bench with my medical bag, watching out for any injures. I thought this session had run smoothly with no injuries, however, at the end of the session once everyone had left, there was one player still on the court lying down. This didn’t seem too worrying, as players often lie on the floor after a hard practise when they are very tired. But, I went over and asked if he was ok, to which he explained he was fine, was just tired but had been elbowed in the face by another player. He looked very pale and his eyes were closed more than normal. I took the player to clinic and conducted a SCAT test (see in next reflection). After this session I felt as though my confidence had been knocked slightly, as I didn’t see the hit to the players head happen. However, this suggests that I need to be keeping a closer eye on all the players during the training sessions, even right at the end.

This session took place in the Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Clinic.

Post practise, 2 players asked for a soft tissue massage to loosen up their tight muscles and to decrease their DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). The first player requested a soft tissue massage to their calves and hamstrings. This player had a low pain threshold, so I had to make sure I wasn’t applying to much pressure when massaging. This player seemed to have a lot of myofascial trigger points between the heads of the gastrocnemius, to which I applied neuromuscular techniques to aid the removal of these. Following this, the second player requested a massage to their quadriceps. This player had a higher pain threshold than the previous, so I had to adapt to applying more pressure to this player. Following this, I applied soft tissue release on their quadriceps to lengthen the muscles. Giving massages as a form of after care to players is something I am trying to avoid recently due other techniques such as stretching and foam rolling also being an effect form of treatment, and taking a lot less time. However, most players seem to like the process of getting a soft tissue massage, to allow them to have some time to relax and to chat to myself about any stressors they have in their life. During one of these conversations, one player explained something that worried me. So, I told the player that I was going to tell the head sports therapist as he will be able to appoint them to the correct direction for help. The player was reluctant at first, however after using techniques learnt form the psychology module in first year, he then realised that telling the head sports therapist was the right thing to do. After this session, I felt very professional, and the head sports therapist thanked me for my efforts and applauded my professionalism which boosted my confidence as a therapist.

This session took place court side to the Plymouth Raiders basketball practise session, followed by their strength and conditioning session. The head sports therapist suggested to the student therapists to begin the warm-up as close to the starting time of the session as possible. Previously, I had been waiting for the head coach to tell the players to ‘grab a band’ (meaning we are about to begin the warm-up). However, instead, it was suggested that we do this instead, as it is our job. As well, upon observing another therapist conduct the warm-up, I noticed that they lay out the bands in the starting positions on the side lines, as opposed to handing them out to each player at the beginning. So, I laid out the bands on either side-line, and when it turned 9.30am, I asked the head coach if I should go ahead and begin the warm-up, to which he said yes. Beginning practise like this seemed to work well, and it felt as though it gave me more of a status to the players, who I sometimes feel like are unsure whether to trust us students. During practise, I kept a close eye on all players, trying my best to ensure I would witness the mechanism of injury if one were to occur. Following practise, I went to the strength and conditioning session. I spent this session leading one station, timing players and correcting technique.