13/08/2020- Plymouth Albion training session- 3 hours

First hour:

During the first hour of the session, was spent ensuring all players, training staff, couches, therapists, and any participants of the training session were tested during our covid checks. Full PPE is worn including a mask, gloves, visor, and apron when in close contact with others where hand sanitizer and cleaning products are used to reduce the risk of spread throughout the team and staff. Any players with symptoms are advised to stay home and anyone with irregular stats is sent home from the training session.

The treatment room:

During the treatment part of the training session, players have the opportunity to be seen by a therapist if they have any issues or if they wish I be treated, taped before the training begins. This week I had a player come for assessment of a lump in the back of their leg just under the knee that felt like a solid ball. I had never felt anything like this before so asked for my supervisors’ opinion to which it was a ball of scar tissue where the player had previously torn the calf multiple times without any treatment. This had intern made the calf muscles extremely tight and treatment consisting of massage twice week until the lump has reduced and the scar tissue has broken down. Stretching will also be part of this treatment plan when the scar tissue has reduced to help increase flexibility.

The second player in the treatment room required a calf, hamstring, and lower back massage as part of maintenance. This player has a physical job doing manual labor 5 sometimes 6 times a week and therefore gets general aches, pains, and tightness with the physical load. This player gets regular treatment during the rugby season to help with reduced pain and symptoms from this physical lifestyle.

Third hour:

During the third hour of the training session, the players were up on the top pitch training. The usual training session commenced and no injuries or accidents occurred. Social distancing was observed where possible and PPE was worn by all therapists in the event of an emergency that could come in close contact with the players with reduced risk of passing anything across.

During this session, I did not feel very confident as I was unaware of a few things which knocked my confidence at the moment. When I asked for help I was told a few things I also was unaware of and until I begin to pout what I was told into practices I didn’t understand it. However, this was a learning curve as I now know what scar tissue feels like for future treatments.

I see this situation as a positive learning experience as the only way to feel the scar tissue was in a practical setting and this only helped me to expand my knowledge for future practice. Although I want to know as much as possible an important way of learning new things is to ask for help which I did at this moment. If I am placed in this situation again I will be able to treat the player without having to ask for help which will only enhance my knowledge further by becoming familiar with this feeling. It may also allow me to help someone else who hasn’t felt what scar tissue feels like.

In this situation there was nothing more that I could have done, I did not know what to do in the situation and therefore I asked for help and that is all that could have been done in the situation.