Peter O' Grady Orthopaedic and Soft Tissue Therapist

Peter O' Grady Orthopaedic and Soft Tissue Therapist Registered Orthopaedic and Soft Tissue Therapist. Approved by VHI & Laya Healthcare. Peter will be happy to meet with you, to help you with your needs.

Peter is based in Ballina town in Co.Mayo, and offers a wide range of services at his clinic. His qualifications and knowledge are endless and include (not all included):
Orthopaedic and Soft Tissue Therapy
Certified L6 Course Tutor
Certified Movement Specialist
Concussion Management Specialist
Strength & Conditioning Coach/Pre-Season Conditioning
Certified MMA Conditioning Coach
Certified Ringsid

e Cutman
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
Sports Therapy, Sports Massage Therapy & Massage Therapy
TCM - Cupping
KT Taping
Occupational First Aid, Sports First Aid, CPR, AED
RLSS Pool Lifeguard
Fitness Instruction and Kettlebell Instruction
GAA & IRFU Coaching Awards
Sport Ireland Anti-Doping Procedures Certificate (urine & blood)
Sport Ireland Coaching Children Certificate

Peter has experience working with teams (County Team Management and Coaching and Club Team Coaching) and individual athletes of all levels including professional competitors. Peter also works closely with other healthcare professionals including doctors and dieticians as a referral to help people with specific medical conditions and injuries. Please feel free to send him a message anytime.

27/05/2026

Rant alert 😤 ⚠️

One thing that gets incredibly frustrating working with injured athletes is this:

Everyone wants players back ASAP when they’re injured… but not everyone is willing to follow the advice that helps prevent the injury from happening again in the first place.

I recently advised a player that he was okay to return to play within the week, but with one clear condition — manage the workload. That meant avoiding a high-demand running role and instead playing in a position with shorter bursts and less overall distance covered while his body continued to recover.

That advice wasn’t about tactics, coaching, or telling anyone how to run a team. It was purely about protecting the player and reducing the risk of re-injury.

The player passed that message on, but the advice was ignored and he was played in a far more demanding role anyway.

As rehab professionals, we don’t give return-to-play guidelines for the sake of it. They’re there because we’re trying to keep athletes healthy, available, and progressing safely. A managed return gives players the best chance of staying on the pitch long term instead of ending up back at square one.

You can’t demand players return quickly from injury while also ignoring the measures put in place to keep them injury-free once they do return.

Player welfare has to come before ego, impatience, or “sure he’ll be grand.”

Rant over! 😎

01/05/2026

Great news!

I’m now open on Saturdays 🎉

If you’re dealing with pain, injury, or just need some expert care, I’m now available for Orthopaedic Therapy, Soft Tissue Therapy and Sports Therapy at a time that suits your weekend schedule.

Whether it’s recovery, rehabilitation, or improving mobility, I’m here to help you move and feel better.

📅 Saturday appointments now available
🔗 Use the link below to book your spot.

https://ballinarehabclinic.com/book-an-appointment/

27/04/2026

🛑 Just helped a client fix their “neck pain”… but it wasn't their neck... It was their eyes 👀

🧠 What I noticed

They came in complaining about that familiar:

Burning at the base of the skull

Tight upper neck

End-of-day headaches

They’d already tried massages, stretching — the usual. Relief never lasted.

So instead of starting with the neck, I looked at their visual load.

⚙️ What was actually going on

Your eye and neck systems are closely linked. The small muscles under the skull (suboccipitals) help coordinate head position with your eyes so your vision stays stable.

In this case:

Hours of screen time = fatigued eye muscles

Fatigued eyes = increased demand on those tiny neck stabilisers

Result = constant low-level tension at the base of the skull

Nothing “injured” — just overworked.

🔍 What I showed them

I had them place their fingers at the base of their skull and keep their head still while moving only their eyes side to side.

They felt it immediately — subtle muscle activity under their fingers.

That moment usually clicks: “Why is my neck working just because my eyes moved?”

🛠️ What we did (simple reset)

We didn’t jump into aggressive stretching.

Instead:

Slow, controlled eye movements (figure-8 pattern)

Short visual breaks

Brief eye relaxation (closing eyes, reducing light input — no pressure needed)

Within minutes, they reported the tension easing.

💡 The takeaway I gave them

If you only treat the neck, you’ll keep chasing symptoms.

When screen time is high, you have to consider:

Eye fatigue

Posture

Break frequency

Address the system, not just the sore spot.

Sometimes the fastest way to relax the neck… is to give the eyes a break.

17/04/2026

🧠 Concussed or Not?! A recent case highlights an important distinction we often see after contact injuries in sport: not all post-impact headaches are concussions.

Following a head collision during a match, this client reported ongoing headaches — a symptom commonly associated with concussion. However, a thorough clinical assessment ruled out concussion based on the absence of key neurological signs such as cognitive impairment, balance disturbance, visual changes, or symptom progression consistent with mild traumatic brain injury.

Instead, the primary driver of symptoms appeared to be cervical muscle guarding.

After a sudden impact, the muscles of the neck (particularly the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and suboccipital muscles) can reflexively tighten to protect the cervical spine. This protective response, while normal, can lead to:

Sustained muscle tension

Reduced cervical mobility

Referred pain into the head (cervicogenic headache)

Increased sensitivity in surrounding soft tissues

This type of headache is musculoskeletal in origin, rather than neurological.

Clinically, differentiating between concussion and cervicogenic headache is essential. While both can present with similar symptoms (e.g. headache, neck pain), management differs significantly:

Concussion requires cognitive and physical rest followed by a graded return-to-play protocol

Cervical muscle dysfunction benefits from manual therapy, mobility work, and gradual return to normal activity

This case reinforces the importance of a comprehensive assessment following head impacts — ensuring athletes receive appropriate diagnosis, management, and timely return to play.

If symptoms such as confusion, dizziness, nausea, visual disturbance, or worsening headache develop, further medical evaluation is always warranted.

16/04/2026

Recently, I worked with a client presenting with lower back pain and hip discomfort. An MRI had identified a disc bulge at L2, which understandably became the focus of concern.

However, a thorough clinical assessment told a different story.

There were no neurological deficits, no loss of strength, no altered reflexes, and no positive orthopedic signs to suggest that the disc bulge was contributing to his symptoms in a meaningful way. Findings like this are actually quite common—many people have structural “abnormalities” on imaging that are asymptomatic and incidental.

What was evident, though, was significant functional dysfunction.

There was clear compensation through the lumbar paraspinal muscles, which were overworking to provide stability that should have been shared across the system. Movement assessment showed reduced mobility, particularly in rotation, alongside poor load distribution patterns. Prolonged desk-based work, low activity levels, suboptimal nutrition, and excess body weight were all contributing factors.

In simple terms: the issue wasn’t structural damage—it was how the body was functioning.

This can be a difficult message to receive. It’s often easier to accept a diagnosis that points to a specific structure than to hear that the root cause lies in lifestyle factors, movement quality, and long-term habits. But this distinction matters.

Pain is not always a direct reflection of structural pathology. It is often the result of cumulative stress, inefficient movement strategies, deconditioning, and poor load management.

If we focus only on what shows up on a scan, we risk missing the bigger picture—and more importantly, the modifiable factors that actually drive recovery.

The goal should always be to address the underlying cause:
• Improve movement variability and control
• Restore appropriate load sharing across joints and tissues
• Build strength and stability
• Address lifestyle contributors such as activity levels, body composition, and nutrition

Treating symptoms alone may provide short-term relief, but without addressing these factors, the problem often persists or returns.

As clinicians and coaches, our role isn’t just to validate pain—it’s to guide people toward understanding it, and to help them take ownership of the factors they can change.

That’s where real, long-term progress happens.

15/04/2026

The 7 exercises to avoid if you have sciatica symptoms:

1. Toe Touches and Forward Bends (increases pressure on herniated discs)
2. Traditional Sit-Ups and Crunches (creates compressive forces on the lumbar spine)
3. Straight-Leg Hamstring Stretches (places direct tension on the sciatic nerve)
4. Back Extensions and Cobra Pose (narrows the spinal canal or increases forward slip of vertebrae)
5. High-Impact Activities (running, jumping, burpees - sends shock waves through the spine)
6. Heavy Squats and Deadlifts (especially with poor form, creates pressure on discs and compresses nerve pathways)
7. Twisting Exercises Under Load (creates uneven pressure across discs and shearing forces through the spine)

These exercises can exacerbate sciatica symptoms depending on the underlying cause, such as herniated discs or spinal stenosis. It's essential to consult a specialist for personalized guidance.

13/04/2026

💥 Start Your Career in Sports Massage Therapy 💥

Ready for a fresh start or a new skill that actually pays?

Our Sports Massage Therapy Level 3 Course is the perfect step into a rewarding, hands-on career in health, fitness, and wellbeing.

📅 Start Date: 16th May
📆 Schedule: Saturdays (ideal for busy lifestyles)
💻 Blended Learning: Combine online study with practical, in-person training
💰 Course Fees: €1450 (payment plan available)
📍 Ballina, Co. Mayo

✨ What you’ll gain:
✔ An internationally recognised qualification
✔ Real, practical skills you can use immediately
✔ The confidence to work with clients and athletes
✔ A clear pathway into a new career or side income

Whether you're looking to change careers, boost your current skillset, or turn your passion into income — this course is designed to get you there.

👀 Advance your career even further and sign up to our level 4 course afterwards!

🚀 Spaces are limited — secure your place now and take the first step toward a new future.

DM me or call or text me on 0861036247.

10/04/2026

A conversation I had with a client this week really stood out 👇

She came to me after being diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy and was told to completely rest for 8 weeks.

No running.
No training.
Basically… do nothing.

And honestly? I disagreed.

Here’s why 👇

Achilles tendinopathy isn’t really an “injury” in the way most people think. It’s not something that just needs time off to “heal.”

It’s a load problem.

Over time, the tendon has become less tolerant to stress — usually because of:
• Sudden increases in training
• Weakness in the calf or surrounding muscles
• Poor movement mechanics

So what happens if we completely rest?

👉 The tendon gets even weaker
👉 The muscles supporting it decondition
👉 And when you return to activity… the pain comes straight back

It becomes a frustrating cycle:
Rest → feel better → go back to training → pain returns

Instead, I explained this:

We don’t want to avoid using the tendon.
We want to teach it to handle load again.

That means:
✔ Modifying activity (not stopping everything)
✔ Gradually rebuilding strength
✔ Addressing the real root causes

Because long term results don’t come from avoiding movement…
They come from building resilience.

This is something I see all the time — not just with Achilles issues, but with many injuries.

Rest has its place.
But it’s rarely the full answer.

If you’ve been told to “just rest” and things keep coming back, it might be time to look at a different approach.

If this sounds familiar or you’re dealing with something similar, feel free to reach out.

04/04/2026

🫁 When Breathing Isn’t Just About the Lungs…

A recent client came in struggling with persistent tightness through the chest and upper neck, along with a feeling that they “just couldn’t take a full breath.” They’d been cleared medically, but the discomfort—and shallow breathing—remained.

On assessment, there was significant tension through the neck (C3–C5 region), upper chest, and rib cage. This immediately raised a red flag for potential restriction along the pathway of the phrenic nerve—the key nerve responsible for driving the diaphragm.

🔍 What we focused on:

Releasing tight scalenes and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles

Improving mobility through the rib cage and thoracic region

Gentle work around the diaphragm and upper abdominal area

Down-regulating the nervous system to support better breathing patterns

💆‍♂️ The result:
After just a few sessions of soft tissue therapy, the client reported:

Easier, deeper breaths

Reduced tightness through the chest

Less neck tension

A noticeable improvement in overall relaxation

💡 Why it worked:
When surrounding tissues are tight or restricted, they can affect how efficiently the diaphragm moves—and even irritate or compress structures along the phrenic nerve’s pathway. By restoring mobility and reducing tension, we help the body return to more natural, efficient breathing.

✨ Sometimes the issue isn’t the lungs—it’s the mechanics around them.

31/03/2026

92-year-old client in recently… and honestly, she’s absolutely flying it 🚀

She had an MRI of her lumbar spine in 2022 for ongoing lower leg pain. The report? Let’s just say it made for dramatic reading — surgery was even recommended. She politely declined (and fair play… at 92, she’s clearly too busy living life 😄).

Since then, she’d had a few spinal injections, but the leg pain persisted.

When I reviewed her MRI, I had to agree — on paper, it didn’t look great. But here’s the key: patients aren’t paper.

When I actually listened to her story, the symptoms didn’t match a lumbar spine issue at all. She described pain along the front of her shins — much more consistent with medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints), a condition involving irritation of the muscles and connective tissue along the shinbone, typically from repetitive load.

We treated the actual source of her pain — and she walked out comfortable, relieved, and pain-free.

🧠 Takeaway:
Imaging findings don’t always equal symptoms. Age-related changes on scans are incredibly common and often incidental. Clinical reasoning, listening, and assessing the person in front of you will always matter more than a report.

Sometimes, the most important thing you can do… is listen.

10/03/2026

📣 Models Needed for Sports Massage Therapy Students! 📣

We’re looking for a few volunteers who would be interested in being practice models for sports massage therapy students this Thursday and Saturday.

This is a great opportunity to receive a sports massage while helping students gain valuable hands-on experience as they develop their skills.

🗓 Days: Thursday & Saturday
📍 Location: Ballina Rehab Clinic
💆 Sports massage practice sessions

If you’d like to take part or want more details, please send me a message.

Feel free to share this post with anyone who might be interested!

Text me if you're interested 0861036247 📱

Address

Teeling Street
Ballina

Opening Hours

Monday 10pm - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 6:30pm
Thursday 10am - 6:30pm
Friday 10am - 6:30pm

Telephone

+353861036247

Website

https://ballinarehabclinic.com/book-an-appointment/

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