Kieser Rehab Update: Maddie Russo
Are you a student at Melbourne University? If so, what do you study?
Yep, I’m a student at Melbourne Uni. I’m studying a Masters of Engineering specialising in Mechatronics, not as fancy as it sounds.
How did you become involved with MUSC?
I started playing for MUSC in my first year at uni. I’d been playing soccer for a while but wanted to change clubs after high school.
What team do you play for? What position do you play?
I play in the Women’s State 1 squad (mostly ressies). I play mostly as a full back but occasionally play as a striker when needed.
How long have you been a part of MUSC?
My first season for MUSC was in 2015, and haven’t left since! So now I’ve played 5 seasons for MUSC (wow long time).
What is your best memory at the club?
Winning both the State 1 Reserves and Seniors titles this year was pretty great! Though I also have a few good karaoke and beer pong related memories with the club, so it’s hard to decide.
What injury did Kieser help you rehabilitate?
A few seasons ago I strained my right quad quite badly and didn’t rehab it properly then. So getting back into the season this year it was starting to ache a lot after training and games as the muscle was very weak.
How did you get injured?
I originally injured my quad sprinting during a warm up in preseason training (which is why I’m always resistant to sprinting in warm-ups now).
How did you use the physiotherapy services that Kieser provided?
I first went to see Jess on a Tuesday night before training during the physio clinic she provided for the club. She gave me a quick assessment and talked to me about what was going on with my leg and suggested I should come in to Kieser for a proper assessment and talk about some rehab and strength training I could do. I started going to see Jess at Kieser twice a week where she took me through strength training for my quad and the surrounding muscles so I wouldn’t get any aches anymore and so I’d be able go full speed at training and games without being worried about re-injuring myself. I did this for six weeks and then had a few additional follow up sessions to make sure I was on track with the home exercises Jess had given me.
What was your experience of using these services?
The services were really good. Everyone at Kieser was really friendly. Jess herself plays soccer as well, so she had a really good understanding of the way I needed my quad to move and the other muscles surrounding my quad that needed to be strengthened for stability and support while kicking the ball and sprinting. Jess was very good at communication to me why I was doing certain exercises and how they’d help me improve my game. Jess always said she was happy for me to email her if I had any questions or issues as well which I found really supportive.
Did Kieser help you successfully rehabilitate your injury? Have you had any problems since?
Yes they did! I felt like I got a lot stronger. After my six weeks of strength training I had a bit of a problem with my quad tightening up a lot as I was sitting down most days for a few weeks at a computer studying for semester 1 exams, not doing my home exercises (sorry Jess). Though this was a bit annoying, getting back into training afterwards was lot faster than I thought it would be, I bounced back really quickly because of the strength training and only missed a few training sessions. Haven’t had an issues since! Thanks Jess!