Within these four hours, I had an online consultation with a previous client to check progress and prescribe exercises for the end stage of rehabilitation, which required research prior to the appointment. I also participated in an exercise prescription seminar with the clinic supervisors.
Reflective Summary
I found the online consultation very interesting, as I had the opportunity to work with a client who was at the end stage of rehabilitation. This meant that I could develop my knowledge on ‘return to run’ and the functional movements that can be used as clinical measures, to ensure the client was safe to return to running. I prescribed plyometric type exercise including A-Skips, jump squats, reverse knee drives and lateral bounds. Plyometric training has been reported to cause specific neural adaptations such as increased activation of the motor units (Hill & Leiszler, 2011). More recently, this type of exercise has become an integral component of the late phase of rehabilitation as the patient nears return to activity; it assists in the development of power, a foundation from which the athlete can refine skills necessary in their specific sport (Davies, Riemann & Manske, 2015). Another thing that I learnt was that skipping is a really good method for improving and maintaining calf plyometric capacity and can be implemented into a warm up once the client has returned to running. I also explained to the client that they need to gradually increase the time they are running per week rather than distance. It is important to monitor this as accumulating high training load in rehabilitation could delay recovery further, particularly with a muscle injury (Stares et al., 2018).
Within the seminar, we had a stimulating conversation around the prescription of load, volume and rest period for a variety of fitness components.The American Collage of Sports Medicine (ACSM) summarise the information well and is a useful resource to reference when rationalising the choice of sets and reps etc. Although, it is important to remember that the clients pain tolerance should also be considered when implementing specific sets and reps.
What Went Well
I pre-planned the rehabilitation programme for the end stage of a calf strain, prior to the appointment so I was confident when explaining the exercises to the client. During the seminar I interacted with the other students and showcased my knowledge when questions were asked.
Areas for Improvement | Action Plan |
Confidently ask the client to perform any movements that may help the objective assessment virtually | With my next online consultation encourage the client to do certain movements if necessary |
Need to stay more focused and engaged during clinical seminars | Ensure I have my camera on throughout calls so I cannot get distracted |
Closing the Loop
Since writing this reflection, I have had the opportunity to explain to clients how to do certain movements, which has allowed my confidence to increase. Furthermore, in all my recent seminars I have made sure my camera was on and I felt like I was more engaged.
References
Davies, G., Riemann, B. L., & Manske, R. (2015). Current concepts of plyometric exercise. International journal of sports physical therapy, 10(6), 760.
Hill, J., & Leiszler, M. (2011). Review and role of plyometrics and core rehabilitation in competitive sport. Current sports medicine reports, 10(6), 345-351.
Stares, J., Dawson, B., Peeling, P., Drew, M., Heasman, J., Rogalski, B., & Colby, M. (2018). How much is enough in rehabilitation? High running workloads following lower limb muscle injury delay return to play but protect against subsequent injury. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 21(10), 1019-1024.