Date: 23.04.19

Location: Plymouth Marjon University

Total amount of hours: 50

Treatment was given to a 19 year old male who competes on a weekly basis in water polo. The client has also previously played football for 8 years.

Treatment began with a light effleurage to help warm up the muscle and prepare it for deep tissue techniques. Petrissage techniques such as wringing and kneading were then applied. The client didn’t seem to find any pain during any effleurage techniques however some of the kneading techniques did cause some pain within the gastrocnemius.

After treating the calf using massage techniques, Muscular energy techniques (MET’S) were then used. This will help to increase range of motion through lengthening the muscles. This was achieved by positioning the client she was lying face down with her feet off the end of the bed. By applying a small amount of force against the clients foot, forcing it into dorsiflexion, and asking the client to resist against this counter force, the stretch was held for 30 seconds. This helped to contract and stretch the muscle. This technique was repeated three times, each time adding slightly more force to the foot.

ROM was tested again at the end of the session and there were some improvements found in dorsiflexion with no pain during the movement, however full range was still not achieved. The client still had some tightness in the calf muscles after the session, meaning that there may need to be further sessions to help improve the clients range of movement further.

An ankle and knee assessment can be carried out to help determine whether there are any underlying issues which may be affecting the clients calf pain.