Reflection: 5/5/2021                               Hours: 2

What happened:

Today I saw one patient in clinic who was suffering from hamstring pain after completing his first 12 weeks of basic training. Despite performing lots of strength training in his preparation before getting onto basic training, he has not performed any since and instead has been doing lots of running with heavy bags up and down hills. He is now presenting with symptoms of a reactive hamstring tendinopathy which flares up after exercise and causes him morning stiffness. I prescribed him isometric exercises to maintain his hamstring strength while his hamstring tendon recovers; isometrics do not load the tendon and therefore provide chance for the tendon to rest and heal (Cook et al., 2016). It is important exercises are modified to reduce the load on the tendon to prevent progressing to the next stage of the continuum.

What I was thinking and feeling and what was good or bad:

At first, I felt really nervous about treating this patient due to him being part of the military, I felt a lot of pressure to make sure my diagnosis and treatment was correct to allow him to continue the next phases of his training.

What else I could have done/areas for improvement:

Be more confident in my own ability and knowledge and stop doubting myself.

 Action plan:

Learn more about military related injuries and common injuries and risk factors associated with military basic training.

 References:

 Cook, J. ., Rio, E., Purdam, C. ., & Docking, S. . (2016). Revisiting the continuum model of tendon pathology: what is its merit in clinical practice and research? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(19), 1187–1191.