29/05/2021- 3 Hours

U15’s Vs Bristol Cup Final- Ashburton

Today the U15’s had a game against the same team the had played at the beginning of the week only this time it was a cup game.

This game was made up of two 40 minute halves rather than 4 20 minute quarters.

Throughout the whole game I was feeling nervous as it seemed to be a very physical game especially coming from the opposing team. They were definitely battling out to win this cup game.

During the warm up, a player felt a twinge in his knee. I checked his ROM and noticed there was very minimal swelling near the medial condyle of the knee. I applied K-Tape to ensure he felt comfortable to play the match.

After half time the coach from the other team asked if I could go over to their side to check on their goal keeper. He had dislocated his little finger. Due to not knowing how to treat dislocations, and knowing that I can not manipulate back into place I advised that he was taken to the closest A&E for them to do it there. I made sure that the athlete was feeling okay and advised that he kept hydrated as it was a hot day.

Near the end of the game a player was foaled then kicked in the head by another player. I waited and looked to see if it was safe for me to approach this athlete on the pitch, the referee also gave the all clear due to their being another incident elsewhere on the pitch which he needed to del with. I made sure the athlete was conscious (which he was), I then asked him to tell me roughly where he was kicked in the head so I could look and feel for any abnormalities or bleeding (neither was present). I helped the athlete off the pitch and further checked him over by checking his ROM.

This last injury was a little scary for me because from watching it happen I assumed the injury to be a lot worse than it actually was. The way he was laid on the floor I though that he was knocked on conscious. Luckily he was not and he was able to perform and answer all the questions I asked him.

Next time I need to be more confident, less scared and ensure that I am ready for anything to happen on the pitch whether its a cut on the knee or an on conscious player lying on the pitch.

27/05/2021- 8 Hours

Today consisted of three different locations; Office in Newton Abbot, Shaldon Primary School then to Ashburton for Regional Training.

Office- Newton Abbot

Today consisted of discussing with the coaches about what we discussed on Tuesday and making a start on creating a new privacy policy for my treatments. I then sat with another coach who showed me how to use their computer system for creating leaflets and handouts for the parents with stretches and exercises. Saints have a particular standard when it comes to advertisement and they stick to the same colour scheme otherwise it can get confusing to the parents and general population.

Today in the office was a short day however very useful and exciting as it has allowed me to give my opinion and show that I am more than capable for the job role that is being offered to me once I have graduated.

Shaldon Primary

Today at Shaldon, I assisted coaching the year 1’s, doing mini matches due to it being the last day for there term session before they break up for May half term. We taught them new skills that gained them extra points to their final scores and gave certificates to the winners as well as to an athlete who has earned it by listening and joining in throughout the whole session. Near the end of the session I needed to take a year 2 student to their teacher as his sugar levels had dropped and he was starting to feel very “low”.

Ashburton Regional Training

There was only a few injuries to occur this evening at training. The first was an athlete complaining of knee pain. I checked his ROM and provided mobilisations in knee flexion as it was limited. I then sent over a rehab plan which would benefit this athlete which I had also created for another athlete Knee Rehabilitation Programme.

I then had a follow up appointment with an athlete who had ‘pulled’ his MCL a few weeks ago. He has made progress and seems to be getting his strength back in his knee. I applied K-Tape to give support and because he asked for it.

I then provided a dynamic warm up for the U15’s as their coach asked if I wanted to get involved and ensure that they are fully warm due to them having a game yesterday so needed that extra push to stretch today.

My last injury of the evening was someone who had slipped and banged his head on the floor. He was conscious and was able to talk to me. He was upset and so I calmed him down whilst talking to him and ensured him that he will be fine. His head was not bleeding and did not have a bump. I made sure he was not feeling dizzy or feeling sick and advised if h wanted to sit out for the rest of the training session then he can but he wanted to continue after he got a drink and calmed down from crying.

I then provided a cool down for the U14’s then the U15’s at the end of the session.

What Went Well

Today went really well as I felt like I got a lot done especially in the office with the coaches today. I was also able to give advise to the coaches as they are due to go hiking up the 3 biggest peaks in the UK on the weekend so I insisted that they warmed up prior to hiking and stretch in the car whilst they are travelling to each peak. They are completing this challenge within 24 hours so I’m sure they may need “treatment” when they come back!

Next Time

Due to being assistant coach during the day and pitch side in the evening, if I have no bookings prior to the training session and no injuries occur on the night then there really isn’t much I can do. Next time I would like to try to get more involved with maybe a team per week (alternate each day) and maybe take half the session to do more strength and agility work rather them doing S&C once every other week for just half an hour.

25/05/2021- 3 Hours

Today consisted of following up with parents and athletes who had previously been injured. I checked into a couple of the parents who have kids who were injured who’s apart of the Cornwall squad.

I then had a zoom call with my supervisor to discuss future plans and how I would like to stay on and work for them. We discussed what my role would entail and what they would like me to do in the meantime. I then started to research privacy policies for sports therapists and how I can adapt them to suit and fit my treatment and suit Saints standards. I will then go over this in more detail on Thursday whilst being in the office.

I then discussed how we could get a booking system created, similar to what we use in the Marjon Sport Clinic with Cliniko, instead of the parents messaging myself constantly and prevents me from getting confused who messaged when and when they wanted to book in with me. This booking system would be a more beneficial way to store clinic notes also, and possibly adapting the Saints website so their “sainty” (online bot) can direct the parents where they need to go.

I also suggested that I could begin to create mini handouts for the parents or even upload onto the website which parents can have full access to. These handouts would consist of stretches, dynamic warm ups and cool downs. Along with some strengthening exercises that can be beneficial to all athletes. This will reduce the amount of messages that comes straight to me about injuries and hopefully help guide the parents to give them advice without having to message me. I did suggest that if the parents do use this strategy that there be some way the coach of that athlete to be notified that they are injured or that they are using these handouts purely to prevent injuries.

Overall, I found today very productive and I am super excited to be officially apart of the Saints Southwest Team when I graduate!

24/05/2021- 10 Hours

Today consisted of three locations; Office in Newton Abbot, Cockington Primary school, and Ashburton for regional training.

Office- Newton Abbot

Today in the office I updated a few rehabilitation programmes to be sent out to a couple of parents. This was discussed with parents on Thursday evening last week and also Saturday morning at the football match (U14’s).

I feel confident and more comfortable in the office now, being able to give advice where needed and to have the courage to discuss with the coach about the future of what they can do to help prevent injuries to occur during their training sessions. Putting together prehab programmes with the coaches and discussing adapting their training syllabus to ensure that they are involving prevention injuries, including strength work and taking into considering of their Peak Growth Spurt (between 12-16 years old).

I then discussed with the S&C coach about what we can do today at regional training for a couple of teams S&C training. We decided to focus on speed and agility today and discussed that I would take the warm up for the first team, help assist coaching the S&C throughout the evening and give cool downs afterwards. There will only be 4 teams training this week as they alternate each week. The training sessions will last 30 mins per team.

 

Cockington Primary School

Today the weather was not very great so we did wet play in the classrooms. Myself and other coaches brought along some McDonald’s fun football books which we turned into a competition of who completes the books first, who creates the best fantasy football and who creates the best flag and trophy. For the last 15 minutes we went outside as the rain had stopped, however due to the playground being slippery from the rain we decided to play walking football. This was an easy adaptation for the kids to still enjoy playing football.

At the end of the session, I headed over to the younger year group to dismiss them due to their coach having to quickly leave to get to Regional Training on time. I felt a little nervous because they were kids I had never met before, however they were completely comfortable with myself dismissing them and ensuring that they did not leave the school without their parents there.

 

Regional Training Session- Ashburton

Today at training there were a few injuries/knocks which I needed to see to prior to assisting coaching the S&C training session. One child had a bleeding nose due to the ball hitting them in the face. I had to quickly assess to ensure they were feeling okay and to stop the bleeding, luckily there was not too much blood and the athlete was feeling ok to continue. I just needed to ensure I kept an eye on him throughout the rest of the evening to ensure he did not become dizzy or start to feel sick as this could be a sign of concussion.

After this I then went over to warm the first group up for S&C training, using a dynamic warm up and including a few movements which will be consistent throughout the S&C session. This helps the athletes to be warm enough to prevent injury from occurring whilst training as the muscles are warm.

After the S&C sessions had finished I had enough time at the end to provide a cool down for both U14’s and U15’s team.

Overall I found today to be a very long day, however I have enjoyed doing new things rather than just treating injuries. If there are no injuries to treat then I would not be able to do anything so being involved in the training sessions and assisting coaching is a really good way for me to feel involved and apart of the team.

28/05/2021- 3 Hours

Marjon Sports Clinic

Today I had two clients booked in, one was a face to face appointment and the other was a telephone appointment.

My first client

My first client came in as a follow up appointment. Prior to the appointment I had already completed a plan of what I wanted to do with this client. I reassessed his home based exercises and adapted them to progress a couple of them. I did not progress all of them as the client was find a couple of them challenging already so I did not feel the need to increase the intensity of them. Throughout this appointment another student was shadowing me and gave advice to this client also as they will be booking this client with them throughout the summer.

What Went Well

Today I found this appointment went really well as I felt confident with providing these new exercises and was impressed with the improvements of this clients progress even if he had a set back a week ago.

Next Time

Next time I need to ensure I know what the gait analysis protocol is and how to follow it correctly. During this appointment I wanted to analyse this clients gait whilst running however I did not complete it via the protocol of 6 minutes running, instead I looked at this clients foot posture and if there was any obvious signs. However, the other student will be doing this gait analysis in 2 weeks time when the client is next booked in.

Overall, I found this appointment ran smoothly and we was able to advise the client where needed.

My second client

For my second client of the day, it was supposed to be a virtual video call appointment however we had to perform it over the telephone due to complications of the video link. This therefore limited what I could do with this patient as I could fully assess him over the telephone.

What Went Well

I found this telephone appointment went well considering I was able to give a clinical impression to my supervisors even though I could not fully assess this client by doing any range of movement. I could only assess by how the patient describes rather than visually seeing the results.

Next Time

Next time I would like to have a back up of some form of video call option (zoom call for example) just in case the video link through cliniko does not work. Only because this makes the appointment run smoother and enables me to assess to the best I can whilst being virtual. I also need to refresh my knowledge on lower back pathologies and what can cause pain into the lower limbs from the spine, knowing the red flags and contraindications that fall into this injury region also.

Overall, I found both of my appointments ran smooth and to the best of my knowledge. I have also really enjoyed working in the Marjon Clinic for the past weeks and excited to see what happens next after I graduate university.

22/05/2021- 3 Hours

Saturday Morning Football Match

Saints Devon vs Saints Somerset- Cup Final

Today I turned up at 9am to help assist with the club warm up.

I then ensured both teams (due to them both being apart of Saints Southwest) to ensure there were no injuries prior to the game and that they did not have any ‘niggles’ that needed looking at.

The game consisted of 4 quarters of 20 minutes long.

The first quarter there were no injuries, however I went over to the Somerset team and had a player who needed more K-Tape applied to his knee. He has been diagnosed with Osgood schlatters and finds the K-Tape help support his knee whilst playing. I took the remaining of his K-Tape off his knee and reapplied more.

During the second quarter there was a nose bleed due to the ball hitting someone in the face. I cleaned the blood up, and assessed this player to ensure he was not concussed/ feeling dizzy or sick.

In the final quarter there were a couple of injuries which occurred. The first was a clash of heads whilst attacking and defending the goal. I went onto the pitch to ensure both players were good to continue playing. They both got up off the ground and stated that they were fine to continue playing. The last injury was a contact injury to someone’s foot. The opposing player stood on the top of his foot close to his toes. I applied an ice pack and suggested he sat out for the last 5 minutes to give himself a rest. After this he was able to stand and walk properly so there was no concern with this injury.

Overall I found it a beneficial game to witness especially with it being a cup final. Stereotypically with a cup final match it tends to be more physical to all the players as both teams are wanting to win the game (even more so than normal).

I enjoy being pitch-side for games as I can never know what to expect, I need to be ready for any injury to occur and to make sure that my kit is fully stocked and ready to go.

Next time I would like to ensure both teams are stretched after the game rather than just stretching the Devon team. I will also like to introduce myself to the opposing team- especially a team from Saints who do not know me or have not seen me face to face before.

21/05/2021- 3 Hours

Today I had two clients booked in to see me at Marjon Sport Clinic.

The first client was a follow up face to face appointment. Prior to this appointment I had created a plan to work with this client so I was prepared. I provided a STM on the Quad muscle as this client felt a benefit last week from a massage. I then discussed with him about him wanting an Ultrasound as a treatment, I decided not to do it this week as I discussed with him that we will try the strengthening exercises first for a couple of weeks, then if we feel the need to use an ultrasound then we will, I also discussed this with my supervisor and he agreed with me.

What Went Well

Todays appointment ran smoothly due to scheduling the appointment a little later so I had enough time to get into the client and get organised. I was also confident with that I was going to do with this client and especially more confident with talking with my client as this is a follow up appointment which I have now seen across the past 3-4 weeks. I have seen great progress with this clients injury and with the client noticing these improvements just makes me feel more confident in myself.

Next Time

Next time I would like to be able to do this appointment within the scheduled time and not run over the time. I would also like to try to fit more into the appointment rather than a massage and then exercises, however I feel like I was able to show this client how to perform these progressed exercises correctly and to see how this client performs them fully- doing all reps and sets.

The half hour between my two clients we all sat in a group and discussed the differential diagnosis which could occur in the practical exam on Wednesday, discussed as a group how we are all feeling about this exam and what we all would like to revise between now and then. I explained that I want to revise the special tests for all diagnosis and research about the differential diagnosis for lower back pain as this is the region where my weakness of knowledge lies.

My second client was passed over to me 5 minutes before his appointment so I was not very prepared for this online triage. However due to doing so many online triage appointments before I was confident in the questions I needed to ask.

What Went Well

Even though I was not able to fully prepare prior to the appointment I was able to ask all necessary questions that needed to be asked, I was also able to get a full description of what the injury could be and have a rough idea of a plan for his next appointment. I ensured the client was comfortable throughout the whole appointment.

Next Time

Next time I would like to be able to be fully prepared prior to the appointment, finding out more information from the client about their injury by emailing them before.

Overall I found today very productive and especially kept me on my toes when my second client was sprung on me last minute.

20/05/2021- 8 Hours

Today consisted of three destinations for placement- Office in newton abbot, Shaldon Primary School then to Ashburton for Regional Training.

For the first three hours of the day, I was in the office.

I had a scheduled zoom call with a potential new year two student joining Saints Southwest for placement over the summer to gain experience. I jumped onto the zoom call to discuss what I do whilst being on placement, and answered any questions she had related to the placement. I felt a little nervous for this zoom call as I was not sure what to expect, however once I started to talk to this girl I started to become more relaxed as I discussed about the placement.

After the zoom call I then went on to answer emails and messages from parents with regards to their children’s injuries which occurred on Monday at training. With these being responds which occur pretty much weekly I feel confident with myself and my knowledge to give advice and my opinion where it is necessary. All of the parents I have spoken to have given great feedback to myself and the other coaches on how much they appreciate everything I do/ try to do for them and their kids with regards to their injuries.

At Shaldon Primary School I assisted coaching the year 1’s providing mini matches with the other coach who was in charge. I then needed to oversee a child from another age group who has diabetes, his glucose went below 4 so I needed to find his teacher so she could give him enough sugar to help increase his sugar levels. I also helped him change his device attached to his stomach as it was falling off, I felt a little nervous with this as I have not done this before, however all he needed me to do was hold it to help him stick it back on.

At Ashburton as soon as I turned up a child had ran into a coach who was carrying portable mini goals, due to him running into this goal it had sliced his forehead by an inch. It was not very deep and I was able to clean it up and I applied steri-strips to help keep his head together and to stop any debris getting caught in the cut. Prior to this I needed to make sure that he was not feeling dizzy or sick due to it being a head injury however he said and looked fine.

I then had follow ups for the rest of the evening. I checked in with a few of the players from the U14’s team who had injuries occur on Monday. One was a back injury, he was able to walk a little better today in comparison to Monday, still tender and sore, however he wanted to try his hardest to join in with training. I explained to him that if his pain increases that he needs to sit out. Another injury was a hamstring injury, he had previously seen a physio who had applied K-Tape to his hamstring. He asked if I could check his ROM and help stretch his leg which I did. The first follow up I felt a little uncomfortable with due to not really knowing where the pain is coming from. I have discussed with his parent that I will do some research over the weekend and Monday morning to then create a plan of exercises and stretches which he can do at home. I feel like I need to do more research around the lower back region as I do not feel confident in my knowledge.

18/05/2021- 3 Hours

Today consisted of messaging parents about the injuries which occurred yesterday (17/05/2021). I sent to one parent stretches which their child could do in regards to their groin pain (groin injury rehab stretches and exercises). I then messaged a parent checking up on a player who hit their head against a goal post yesterday, checking to see how he was feeling today.

I then had a zoom video call with an athlete and parent from Taunton squad regarding their shoulder. They had dislocated their shoulder a couple of weeks ago and were after some advice for strengthening exercises. I assess their ROM and noticed that they had some ROM but not full. So i focused these HBE to increase their ROM and then will give progressions in 1-2 weeks depending on their improvements.

I was a little nervous about this zoom call as I have not had much experience regarding shoulder dislocations, however due to the client having a limited ROM I felt confident in providing range of movement exercises to help increase that. I will then do some extra research around shoulder dislocations and to see which way is the best possible route for strengthening exercises.

17/05/2021- 10 Hours

Newton Abbot Office

Today I was in the office from 9am till 2.30pm replying to emails for admin work and replying to parents who had messaged over the weekend with regards to injuries.

I then had a zoom call with a parent with regards to a child’s injury that occurred on Saturday. After the video call I then adapted an ankle exercise programme for this athlete in order to help him back to weight bearing Rehabilitation Plan- Ankle Injury.

After the programme was sent via email to the parent I then started to discuss potential exercises which the coach can incorporate into their training sessions to help prevent injuries (strengthening exercises) and plan with the coach what we are going to be providing at the primary school at 3pm.

Cockington Primary School

Today due to the weather we were indoors. We decided to keep it football related and asked them to draw us pictures of what ‘their team’s’ kits would look like; home and away with football boots. We then all rated everyone’s drawings and allowed them to present their work to everyone in their class.

Due to being here for only an hour we could have probably asked for permission to move the tables and do some mini drills in the class rooms due to not having the space in a hall as it was already occupied. We did not want to take them outside due to the rain being so heavy so we had to optimise. Luckily they all seemed to enjoy our drawing competition and we had lots of fun doing it.

Ashburton Regional Training

This evening I had one athlete book in with me prior to the start of training. He was c/o groin pain. His hip ROM was limited due to muscle tightness, however his knee ROM was fine. Whilst palpating it was tender to touch and it was slightly warm. He asked if he could join in with training and I suggested that he did however just to take it easy as we did not want his injury to worsen. I applied K-Tape down his groin into his quad (slightly medially). I then went through some stretches prior to him joining in at training. I had also suggested he sat out of his S&C session as it was very ‘leg heavy’ and again did not want the injury to worsen.

A goalkeeper had smacked his head on the goal post, so I instantly ran over o check if he was okay by asking him simple questions, “what is your name” and “where are we”. He was fully aware of everything and was able to talk properly. He was also aware of where was hurting on his head (able to pin point) and did not feel dizzy or nauseous. Due to it occurring near the end of his session I advised him to let his parents know if he becomes dizzy or sick later on once he has left as it could be a sign of concussion.

My last injury of the evening occurred du to over stretching his leg causing a ‘spasm’ in his lower back. As I assessed, his lower back muscles, glutes and hamstrings (all right side) were all guarding so were very tight and ‘twitchy’. I provided a very superficial massage on the lower back on the right hand side and did some STR’s down the hamstrings on the right leg. I advised that he apply heat or ice (depending on what he wants) to the lower back to help relieve any pain when he gets home. I also advised to keep stretching as his hamstrings were very tight.

At the end of the training session I provided cool down stretches for the U14’s and U15’s team.

 

Next time I would like to be able to recognise why the last injury caused the muscles to spasm and be able to tell him what type of injury he has. I need to do some extra reading around differential diagnosis for the lower back which can be related to the glutes and hamstring muscles.