Date: 18.03.19

Location: Plymouth Marjon University

Total amount of hours: 41

In this session, a female client aged 20 was treated for upper back pain. This could be due to stress of work and sitting at a desk for long hours.

After observation, it was clear that the left shoulder was more elevated than the right, suggesting a tightness within the trapezius muscle. The left shoulder, at the upper trapezius fibres, were incredibly tight, this also reduced the clients ROM during abduction. The client didn’t feel any pain on palpation.

Treatment began with effleurage. NMT’s were applied when some knots were identified along the superior border of the scapula. Although a lot of pain was caused for the client due to the tightness of the muscle, using this technique did help to reduce pain and tightness within the affected areas. The session ended with a light effleurage to the upper trapezius fibres. The muscle fibres felt a lot less tight however there was still some tightness within the left side of the shoulder and neck.

By testing the clients ROM before and after treatment, this will help when comparing whether the treatment has been effective. Also, by measuring the clients ROM, this will help to give a more specific result as to whether treatment has worked.