Don Kelly physical therapy and Acupuncture clinic

25/09/2025

Downward dog from 4 point

Start on your hands and knees.
Place your toes on the mat and press your hips back and up toward the ceiling.
Slightly bend your knees and lengthen the spine.
Push the floor away from you and straighten out your legs, pressing your heels down toward the floor.

Here's why starting from a four-point kneeling position is so beneficial:

1. Enhanced Spinal Alignment
Beginning in a neutral, four-point kneeling position allows you to set the proper foundation for your spine. From here, you can focus on lifting your hips while maintaining a long, straight back. This helps prevent the common mistake of rounding your back, which can put unnecessary strain on your lower spine. A bent-knee variation is also encouraged, as it allows you to prioritize a straight spine over straight legs.

2. Gradual Hamstring and Calf Stretch
For many people, the hamstrings and calves are tight. Entering the pose from tabletop allows you to gradually work into the stretch. You can start by keeping your knees generously bent, focusing on lengthening your spine and pressing your chest toward your thighs. As you build flexibility, you can slowly work toward straightening your legs and moving your heels closer to the floor.

3. Strengthening and Stabilizing the Upper Body
The transition from four-point kneeling to Downward-Facing Dog requires you to engage your arms, shoulders, and core to support your body weight. This movement strengthens your wrists, shoulders, and back, which is crucial for building the stability needed for more advanced yoga poses.

25/09/2025

"X" Jump drill

Make an X-pattern.
Jump forward, bringing your feet together, then jump forward bringing your feet out.
Reverse this movement by jumping back, bringing your feet together, and them jump back bringing your feet out.

Here's a breakdown of the key benefits:

1. Plyometric Training
The X jump is a plyometric movement, which means it uses a rapid stretching and shortening of muscles to generate force. This improves the efficiency of your muscles' stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), which is crucial for activities that require quick, powerful movements, such as sprinting and jumping. This is particularly beneficial for athletes in sports like basketball and volleyball, where a strong vertical jump is a key component of performance.

2. Full-Body Strength and Conditioning
While the X jump is primarily a lower-body exercise, it engages a wide range of muscles throughout your body.

Lower Body: It intensely works the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

Core: Your core muscles must stabilize your body during the explosive jumping motion and the landing.

Upper Body: The arm movements in the "X" shape engage your shoulders and can help improve coordination.

25/09/2025

Physio + Nutrition = Wellness

At Don Kelly Physiotherapy and Acupuncture in Limerick and Charleville, we believe health goes beyond pain relief. Pairing expert physiotherapyith good nutrition helps you recover faster, reduce inflammation, and build long-term strength.

Whether you’re healing from an injury, managing chronic pain, or just want to feel your best, combining the right movement with the right foods can make all the difference. 🌿

Read our latest article to learn how physiotherapy and nutrition work hand-in-hand for total wellness:

The benefits of combining physiotherapy and nutrition for long-term wellness at Don Kelly Physiotherapy and Acupuncture in Limerick and Charleville. Improve recovery, reduce pain, and boost overall health.

25/09/2025

Stretching and strengthening exercises for a frozen shoulder primarily help restore range of motion, decrease stiffness and pain, and improve overall shoulder function. These exercises work by increasing flexibility and lengthening muscle fibers through gentle stretches, while strengthening exercises stabilize the joint and build strength lost during the immobilization period. Benefits include preventing the condition from worsening, enabling a return to daily activities, and reducing the risk of future injury.

25/09/2025

Hamstring towel slide - single-leg

Lie on your back with your legs hip-width apart, feet flat on the floor, and with a towel under one heel.
Keep your arms relaxed on the floor by your sides.
Tuck your tailbone between your legs and lift your buttocks up until your hips are straight.
Slide one heel away from you so that your knee straightens.
Keep your pelvis level and hips high.
Then pull the heel back to the starting position and repeat.
You can also use a sliding disc for this exercise.

The single-leg hamstring towel slide is a highly effective bodyweight exercise that isolates and strengthens the hamstrings, glutes, and core. It is a fantastic alternative to traditional hamstring curls, particularly for those without access to gym equipment.

Here are the key benefits of the single-leg hamstring towel slide:

Isolated Hamstring Strengthening: Unlike exercises that target multiple muscle groups, this drill specifically focuses on the hamstring muscles. The sliding motion forces your hamstrings to work eccentrically (as they lengthen) and concentrically (as they shorten), which is crucial for building strength and preventing injury.

Improved Muscular Balance: By working one leg at a time, you can address and correct any strength imbalances between your left and right sides. This is essential for athletes and anyone looking to improve their functional movement and reduce the risk of injury.

Enhanced Core Stability: To keep your hips lifted and your body stable throughout the movement, your core muscles, including your glutes and lower back, must be actively engaged. This promotes core stability and can help alleviate lower back pain.

Joint-Friendly: The exercise is performed while lying on your back, which removes any direct pressure on the knees and spine. This makes it a great option for people with knee issues or those recovering from certain injuries.

25/09/2025

Hop - figure of 8 around the grid

Stand up straight with a four square grid on the floor in front of you.
Start in the back left square of the grid.
Transfer your weight onto your affected foot and lift your unaffected foot from the floor
Hop diagonally across to the square to your front right landing lightly on your foot.
Immediately hop across the line to your left side then diagonally across to the square to your back right and finally across the line to your left side in quick succession.
Repeat.

Benefits of the Figure-8 Hop Drill
Agility and Footwork: The drill requires quick changes of direction, mimicking movements in sports like basketball and football. This helps you accelerate and decelerate efficiently while maintaining control.

Muscular Strength: It works the muscles of the lower body, including the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. The constant shifts and hops also build strength in the ankles and feet, which is crucial for injury prevention.

24/09/2025

Whether it's a chronic issue or a new ache, these five steps can help you find relief and get back to doing what you love.

1. Strengthen the Core
Exercises that strengthen your lower back, core, and leg muscles can help alleviate and prevent back pain. A strong core provides the support your spine needs to stay healthy and pain-free.

2. Keep Moving, Keep Stretching
Don't let pain stop you from moving. Try to maintain your usual level of daily activity, like a brisk 30-minute walk. Regular movement helps keep your spine and muscles flexible and can reduce stiffness. Aim to get on your feet at least three times a week.

3. Physiotherapy
A physiotherapist can identify the root cause of your pain and dysfunction. They will create a personalized plan to restore balance and function, and teach you a maintenance program to prevent pain from returning.

4. Dry Needling
Knotted muscles, also known as trigger points, can be a constant source of pain. Dry needling is a technique that can help break the cycle of trigger point pain by targeting and releasing those painful knots.

5. Custom Orthotics
Foot pronation can be a sneaky cause of back pain. Wearing custom orthotics can correct your foot position, which in turn improves your posture and gait. This can lead to less stress on your knees and a more stable, aligned body from the ground up.

Remember, a combination of these strategies can be a powerful way to manage and overcome back pain. If you're struggling, a healthcare professional can help you determine the best path forward.

24/09/2025

Isometric shoulder abduction

Sit or stand up straight next to a wall.
Keep your affected arm by your side and bend your elbow to 90 degrees.
Place the outside of your elbow against the wall.
Without moving your body, press your elbow into the wall.
Hold this position and then relax.

Here are the key benefits of incorporating isometric shoulder abduction into your routine:

Rehabilitation and Pain Management: This is a primary use of isometric exercises. When a shoulder is injured, for example with a rotator cuff tear or impingement, full joint movement can be painful or damaging. Isometric abduction allows you to strengthen the muscles—primarily the deltoid and supraspinatus (a key rotator cuff muscle)—without putting stress on the joint. The static contraction can also have a temporary analgesic (pain-relieving) effect.

Improved Joint Stability: The shoulder is a highly mobile but inherently unstable joint. The muscles of the rotator cuff and deltoid work together to keep the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) centered in the shoulder socket. Isometric exercises help to train these muscles to "co-contract" and provide stability, which is crucial for overall shoulder health and can help prevent future injuries, especially for athletes or individuals with a history of shoulder instability.

Muscle Activation and Mind-Muscle Connection: Because there is no movement, you can focus intently on the specific muscles you are trying to target. This can improve the "mind-muscle connection," which is the ability to consciously engage a muscle group. This can lead to more effective training, as you learn to better activate and control the right muscles for a given exercise.

24/09/2025

Active prone back extensions

Lie on your front with your hands by your shoulders and your elbows by your side.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together so your elbows are close to your side, and your hands are off the floor.
Arch your back so your torso comes off the floor.
Maintain your shoulder blades in a squeezed position throughout the duration of the exercise while keeping the buttock muscles tight.
Your lower body remains in contact with the floor.

The benefits of active prone back extensions include:

Strengthening the Erector Spinae: This is the primary muscle group targeted. The erector spinae are a series of muscles that run along the spine and are crucial for maintaining an upright posture and extending the back.

Improved Posture: By strengthening the muscles that support the spine, this exercise helps to counteract the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and poor posture, which can lead to a hunched-over position.

Reduced Risk of Lower Back Pain: A strong and stable lower back is less susceptible to injury. By building strength and endurance in the back muscles, you can improve the spine's ability to handle stress from daily activities and other exercises, thus reducing the likelihood of pain.

24/09/2025

Bursae are small, jelly-like sacs that are located throughout the body, including around the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, and heel. They contain a small amount of fluid, and are positioned between bones and soft tissues, acting as cushions to help reduce friction during joint motion.

Bursitis is a condition that involves inflammation of the bursa. There are two major bursae in the hip that typically become irritated and inflamed:

One bursa covers the bony point of the hip bone called the greater trochanter. Inflammation of this bursa is called trochanteric bursitis.
Another bursa — the iliopsoas bursa — is located on the inside (groin side) of the hip. When this bursa becomes inflamed, the condition is also sometimes referred to as hip bursitis, but the pain is located in the groin area. This condition is not as common as trochanteric bursitis but is often treated in a similar manner.

The main symptom of trochanteric bursitis is pain at the point of the hip. The pain usually extends to the outside of the thigh area. In the early stages, the pain is usually described as sharp and intense. Later, the pain may become more of an ache and spread across a larger area of the hip.

Typically, the pain is worse at night, when lying on the affected hip, and when getting up from a chair after being seated for a while. It also may get worse with prolonged walking, stair climbing, or squatting.

24/09/2025

Supine isometric knee extension in 20 degrees flexion

Lie on your back with your legs straight.
Place a rolled towel underneath your knee on the leg to be exercised.
Your heel should rest on the ground with your toes pointing directly up towards the ceiling.
Tighten your thigh muscle and push the back of your knee into the towel.
Your leg should remain still as you tense your thigh.
Hold this position.
Relax, and repeat.

The benefits of this specific exercise are numerous, especially for individuals with knee pain or limited range of motion:

Pain Reduction: This is one of the most significant benefits. Isometric contractions, especially in a pain-free range of motion like 20 degrees of flexion, have been shown to have an analgesic (pain-relieving) effect. They can help reduce the perceived pain associated with conditions like patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee) or knee osteoarthritis.

Safe Strength Building: Since the joint doesn't move, there is minimal stress on the knee joint and its surrounding structures (ligaments, cartilage, and tendons). This makes it an ideal exercise for the early stages of rehabilitation after an injury or surgery, where movement may be painful or contraindicated.

Quadriceps Activation and Neuromuscular Control: This exercise helps to "wake up" the quadriceps muscles and re-establish the connection between the brain and the muscle. This is crucial after an injury or surgery, as the muscles can become inhibited or "shut down," making it difficult to perform even simple tasks.

Improved Knee Stability: By strengthening the quadriceps, you are building the primary muscles responsible for knee stability. This can help prevent the knee from "giving way" and reduce the risk of future injuries.

Versatility and Accessibility: The exercise can be done anywhere with minimal equipment (just a towel). This makes it easy for patients to perform at home as part of a home exercise program.

24/09/2025

Activities that trigger back pain include Prolonged sitting, improper lifting and bending, poor posture, lack of exercise, and using heavy bags or wearing uncomfortable footwear. Everyday tasks like cleaning, gardening, driving for extended periods, and even using your phone can also cause strain. Additionally, lifestyle factors such as smoking can negatively impact back health and increase pain.