Date: 08/05/2021
Hours: 2
Total hours: 66
Varsity is a huge part of university and is greatly anticipated by many each year. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s varsity was due to be even more popular. However, with there being less time for teams to train, there has been a higher increase in occurrence of injury dur to players missing the opportunity to train and having to perform upon short notice.
This session was with the Marjon university women’s hockey team for their varsity match against Plymouth university. Most players felt nervous for the game after having little training in preparation for the big game, with few players needing treatment before the game, it was quick to begin with a 9:30 push back. The weather had unfortunately been raining heavily meaning that there will need to be extra attention on the pitch in case of players slipping and causing injury.
Before the game, players with recurring injuries attended for kinesiology tape to be applied. The first player requesting tape was suffering with tight quadricep muscles on both legs. Kinesiology tape was applied around both knees and proximally along the quadriceps using two strips of tape and 80% stretch applied at both legs.
The 2nd player requiring tape was suffering with shin pain, after some palpation there was some tightness along the tibialis anterior muscles on both shins. Kinesiology tape was applied from the anterior of the ankle and proximally towards the head of fibula. A smaller second strip of tape was applied to create a cross covering the area at the distal shin which was tight and causing most pain.
After approximately 30 minutes into the game, one player left the pitch with complaints of calf pain and difficulty breathing. This was likely to be due to a lack of training and preparation by strengthening the muscles for the game. The player has no known history of asthma and was relaxed until a regular breathing pattern was recovered. To treat the calfs, they were passively stretched by applying dorsiflexion from the toes. The player then used a foam roller on both calfs until there was a full range of motion available and there was a decrease in pain when walking. The player then returned to the pitch after treatment and had no further concerns throughout the match.
After the match, players were assessed and there were no injuries causing concern. No post-match treatment was provided however there was a conversation with all players to ensure that there were no injuries that needed to be recovered.
The match finished with a 5-0 loss however this was an experience that was great to help improve problem solving skills and quick thinking.