Reflection: 17/2/2021                                      Hours: 2

What happened?

Today’s online consultation was with a 17-year-old male A-level student, who I have previously seen, he is suffering from thoracic stiffness which is believed to be caused from sitting at a desk for too long.

In the last appointment I gave the patient a video of thoracic mobility exercises, from which I advised he picks 3 of the most suitable exercises for him and performs these daily. He did not get on with any of the exercises, therefore he did not adhere to them, resulting in no improvement in his condition.

What were you feeling?

At first I felt disheartened and embarrassed that what I had prescribed did nothing but I remembered always being told “one exercises doesn’t work for everyone”, so I decided to prescribe him more simple thoracic mobility exercises such as: Thread the needle, Cat Camel, Open the Book. My hope was that these exercises would be more accessible and simple for him to perform, in turn improving his adherence (McKay & Verhagen, 2016).

What went well?

I found the appointment really useful because it made me re-evaluate what treatment I had previously prescribed and look at why it didn’t work and how I could change it, to be more effective. I feel this really improved my clinical experience and was beneficial for my critical thought, as once I graduate, I am sure I will have lots of cases like this where my initial treatment may not be the most effective and I have to adapt to overcome individual barriers. I think that these situations are sometimes more beneficial than the appointments where the treatment works first time, because this does not force me as a therapist, to think critically and analyse what the treatment I did. I feel more confident now that I can overcome problems I may face and adapt my treatments to individual patients needs.