LP therapy

just over here trying to get familiar with having my head in the books again … as I am very excited to share that I’m going to be starting a PhD at the end of January on Concussion in Rugby in the University of Limerick. 📚

This post is giving LinkedIn feels but I’m looking forward to the new venture, challenge and expanding my skillset ☺️

Here’s to the next 4 years … and maybe some concussion content on here from time to time 😅

An insight into what 1:1 coaching with me looks like 🌻

I love this new chapter because I get to work so closely with clients. It’s very hard to just throw a gym plan at somebody and hope for success without looking at their whole picture. A week of great sleep, a work promotion and just after your period will look very different to a week of work stress, pre-period and a ni**le somewhere in the body! 🥲

Every day is different, nevermind week. I work closely with clients to establish their goals at the start and then formulate a plan to hit those goals. We work to establish new habits, whilst simultaneously understanding WHY we are doing it. I want to support women to understand fitness, health and fueling their body.. to equip them for the rest of life. I am not a 6-week fad diet plan and a bucket load of cardio coach.

Whatever your current fitness level is, from zero gym experience looking to get started… to a gym veteran looking to zone in on the smaller details. I’m here to work alongside you toward your goals. 🤝

DM or fill out interest form in bio to get started!

Low Back Pain 🫠

It can range from being a little uncomfortable picking things up from the floor, to being completely bed bound. So where you lie on this spectrum will impact how much or little strength work is good for you.

However, some people still believe that resting / doing nothing for a prolonged period is the relief for low back pain. ABSOLUTELY NOT if you don’t want this to continue happening.

Strengthening the muscles around your back to offer more support is 🔑 to offsetting this totally. You might not be able to do compound lifts like squats/deadlifts, but focusing on specific muscle groups to target can be huge.

The five I often find issues with in clients are back extensors (erector spinae), core, hip flexors, hamstrings and gluteals. All of these are actually groups of muscles, rather than one specific muscle, but for understanding sake I thought this was the best way to communicate the possible ‘problem’ areas.

My advice is try gentle exercises to target all of the above and gradual progress forward in them. You’ll likely find one in particular that you struggle with and might highlight a weakness you have!

*this should not be confused with a perfect rehab plan, ideally you would get to a therapist of some sort to identify the true cause and get a personalised plan, with the right dosage. This is just food for thought for those suffering with back pain and those who treat back pain!

hey hey 😎😎 just hopping on here for a formal post for any new followers and an update of what this page is about for the OGs.

Originally, I set this page up over lockdown to offer free and accessible injury advice after seeing lots of poor advice and myths online.

From that, the page grew and opened up the opportunity for me, at 23, to open up a clinic within a local gym (shoutout ), evolve hugely as a practitioner, make lifelong friends, travel internationally with work, find a new sport and learn an absolute load along the way 😅 (helloooooo trial and error)

Starting the business on-site took my main focus so this page took a back seat. Now, after deciding to take a year abroad in May to explore other passions, I was originally torn between what to do with the page; whether to just leave it totally, or keep chipping away. I absolutely loved my work and the impact it could have … but I struggled with a big mental content block, as truth be told I was burned out, unsure about what the page’s purpose was and just needed an overall break from certain stresses. I’ll speak more about all of that another time I think, it might help other healthcare providers who are feeling the same pressures.

Now, after taking some needed time off, I’m SO excited to use this page more. I love helping people and having this platform is an amazing opportunity to do that. However, I think my values at the moment have evolved to include a lot more of a whole body approach - so yes, rehab/exercises etc… but also nutrition, lifestyle habits and overall health ☀️

If that is content you’re interested in, welcome to the updated LPtherapy ☺️ and if not, thanks so much for following and I hope your Insta feed is full of other content you enjoy 😙 ✨

I think this is my favourite work photo to date, celebrating the u22 girls smashing it in Portugal in July☘️
Sport is so much more than a game or hobby, it’s connection, it’s teamwork and it’s hardwork ✨ .ie

Summary of systematic review on menstrual cycle’s affects on injuries🚨

This is a topic I am super passionate about 🙌🏻

There was a big overlap in ovulation (day 14 of cycle) having an increase of injury, perhaps due to hormone differences (increased relaxin causing laxity) and also evidence to support increased strength during this time, so perhaps that is something to be investigated too! However, there are limitations to these studies including some small sample sizes and poor objective measures for testing.

In my opinion, while this might offer guidance for a bit of extra care to be taken around ovulation, we are all unique. Unfortunately there is not enough good quality research to support exact menstrual cycle affects of injury, so I believe it is important for women to try monitor their own cycles, energy levels, coordination, recovery and overall well-being throughout their cycle.
It might be worth noting any cyclical changes in terms of pain (e.g. increased back pain during days leading up to menstruation every month) to adjust your work load accordingly. 🤗

Really pleased to see this topic beginning to be evaluated now and hopeful for the future of women’s research. ✨

a little insight into ‘resting’ while injured

✨ ✨ ✨ if you’re injured, advised to rest and know you’re going to ignore the advice… I would advise saying that to your treatment provider so they can also help minimise damage in the meantime (e.g. playing a match with a sprained ankle or torn meniscus in your knee)
You’re an adult and can make your own decisions, we are only here to educate you, offer advice and work together towards your goals.
It also saves your therapist a lot of time going through a treatment plan that you’ve already pre-decided you’re not going to use ✨ ✨ ✨

dependant on the issue, full body rest / doing absolutely nothing is rarely a requirement for healing injured muscles 😙

when 100% of you voted on the poll the other day about avoiding getting an injury assessed for fear of resting, I said it was time to address the issue and maybe motivate a few people to not normalise being in pain everyday 😎

I am beyond excited to announce the launch of LPtherapy’s first digital rehabilitation guide 🙌🏻

Through clinical assessments, I have treated MANY shoulder issues 🙋🏻‍♀️ Everybody is definitely not the same and each injury is different, however a lot of them had common factors associated with the cause of injury…

✔️ lack of awareness of what causes shoulder pain
✔️ undervaluing the importance of good joint health around the shoulder (neck, elbow and wrist)
✔️ inconsistent mobility routines and rehab exercises

I found myself always wanting to help more people and to do it in an economical way - therefore I created this guide 🫶🏻

It includes a ‘get to know your shoulder’ introduction and education element, everyday mobility routine, warm-up upper body plans/options and a 16-week strength plan…. That’s 4 months of shoulder health work for the price of one physio session. 🤭

Did I mention that all the exercises have full explanatory videos to accompany, to ensure adequate form? 🤩

Link in bio to buy off the site now! Or feel free to shoot me a DM or email the team to figure out if it is suitable for you. 🏋️‍♂️🏋️‍♂️🏋️‍♂️

Just to add a massive thanks to for use of his camera and for the INCREDIBLE work on the guide design and amazing digital skills to make sure it’s user friendly (and pretty😜)

Is increasing your training load a risk factor for injury? 🤔🤔

In a nutshell - if you’re increasing your training load too far from your ‘normal’ or baseline level in terms of intensity (duration, effort etc.) in a very short period of time… you could be 2-4.5x times more likely to become injured! 🤕

My advice: take increases in training load gradually.
If you’ve never trained before.. start with 2-3x classes a week or walk 1km/run 1km intervals rather than running a 5km.. ease your body into it! 🤗
If you have a good training base, these jumps in training load will look different - it might be adding a double session 1-2x days a week before going from 1x session a day to 2x sessions every day! Be smart with your training load, be patient and listen to your body 🙌🏻 💆🏻‍♀️

*It is important to note that this particular study was conducted on elite athletes only and it is not without it’s limitations. 🙋🏻‍♂️

However, it’s always good to have evidence to support advice about gradual progression and return to training… whether that be in rehab/returning after injury or by reducing the risk of injury in the first place ✨

Post and study in question:
DOI: 10.1123/jsr.2018-0207
PMID: 31094616
Myers et al., 2020

Grateful Moment 🫶🏻

great weekend in Luxembourg with Senior Men’s and Women’s Squads! 🤩
Both teams played Luxembourg, Germany and England in the Novotel Cup across the weekend. ☘️
Great to catch up with the squads again and to see their never-ending progress👏🏻

Forever in awe of
1) the skill and effort across both team’s players 🔥
2) the dedication and passion from the management and backroom team 🤝

If anybody needs tips on how to pack enough tape, first aid supplies, massage lotions and all the rest into your bag travelling with two teams … I’m your girl 😅

Excited to see what’s to come for Volleyball in Ireland in the future 👀 🙌🏻 💪🏻

a moment for the clients who took the time to write the reviews on Google, thank you all very much 🫶🏻

running a small business takes time which sometimes leave social media to the bottom end of the priority list 🤷🏻‍♀️ so every review, like and share is always appreciated

LPtherapy commits to offering the best quality service, with genuine care for their clients. We want to listen and form a plan with you to get you back doing what you love. No, it won’t be a quick fix and yes, sometimes it takes weeks, if not months, and sometimes longer. But we endeavour to do it as quickly and safely as possible, because everybody deserves to have their pain heard and dealt with 🤝

Even with a special interest injuries and rehabilitation from our therapists in field sport (GAA, rugby) and CrossFit… there is something so fulfilling from seeing somebody be able to pick up their child without shoulder pain, or survive a plane journey on holidays without their back flaring up. ✈️

The passion for helping others hasn’t left LPtherapy, sometimes it’s just not seen publicly here because we’re focused on the 1:1 work with our clients. 💞

… in saying that, keep your eyes peeled for the next while for some more rehabilitation options without need for a visit 👀

not much context needed here…

too much of anything too quick (be it strenuous lifting, running, sitting at a desk, anything) might lead to physical overload and large changes in movement volume or patterns should be done with a gradual approach where possible

stress and cognitive overload I’ve discussed previously in recovery posts - it’s so important to look after that brain of yours ☀️

the other factors that are often blamed might have some part to play, but I would love to know if you did the parts on this side of the list WHILE having the left side of the list in good order…. how injured or sore you would feel 🤔

*I stand by the disclaimer at the bottom, this isn’t including direct impact / trauma like falling or getting tackled hard, and of course excludes those with medical conditions which may cause injury. You guys do whatever you need to keep yourselves happy and healthy! 🌻

Upper Body Injury - What you can do 🤝

Follow-on from the last ‘what you can do’ post with a lower body injury, said I would throw up one for the other way around!

*Always clarify with your therapist what’s suitable for you, this is a generic idea collection for those of you with upper body ni**les looking to stay lifting/training in some capacity. 😄

Feel free to send to a friend struggling with an upper body ni**le that just won’t stop doing overhead work 🥲

Changing the narrative slightly on being injured, with a focus shift on what you can do while injured, rather than solely focusing on what you can’t.

This post is self-explanatory, above are some possible options of what you can do with a lower body injury!

Please note
1) This isn’t a stand-alone list. There are many variations that could be applied, this is simply a guide of options to get you thinking, whether you’re the injured person or perhaps coach yourself and have a client with an injury.
2) I would advise getting medical clearance from your therapist (athletic therapist/physio/consultant… whoever you’re getting treatment from!) for the above exercises. Every injury is individual and therefore so is rehab and the return to exercise in the meantime.
Often times rehab can look similar between injuries, but it’s frequency/intensity/time of use/reintroduction of higher level exercises is totally individualised.

Basically - make sure you get the green light formally from your care provider, and I hope this is hopeful to shed some light on the reminder that you can often times train around injury, rather than having to rest fully.

Part 1: ‘Recovery’ is a bit of a buzzword currently. This is the first post of a recovery series… to try and explain the importance of every aspect. I did something similar to this before and said I’d give it another go now ☺️

In simple terms, exercise recovery is the act of being both physically and mentally ready for your next training session. You want to be able to hit each training session with (relatively) the same intensity and intent as the last. 💪🏻

You know the feeling… when you’ve had a big training day, smashed it, maybe hit a PB… and then the next day you wake up feeling like a bus hit you! 🥲
Optimal recovery, to me, is the ability to wake up the day after a big session with excitement and a relatively fresh body to hit the next. 👏🏻

However, recovery is more than massages, ice baths, compression boots and supplements. These are what I call the 1%-ers, they should be looked for when you’re nailing all the basics of recovery, for added benefits!
But if you aren’t handling the other 95% of recovery well… why would you focus solely on the 1%-ers?

These basics being
- adequate sleep (7+ hours) 💤
- good quality and quantity nutrition (getting enough of the right type of food… and if we are getting into the nitty gritty of it, you want to strive to get it at the right times) 🍎🍞🥦🥩
- good hydration (easy test: make sure your urine is a light yellow/clear colour) 💧
- good movement (mobility work, good form during exercising) 🤸🏻‍♀️

and last but definitely not least, is one that’s often overlooked…

- mental rest ✨ 💆‍♂️

I see so many people getting frustrated with their training/recovery/injuries… their nutrition is good, they’re stretching, they’re training hard…
But when you dig deeper into it - their lifestyle is extremely stressful.
In a nutshell, your body can only deal with so much stress, be it from training, or work, or family… to your body, stress is stress. I like to think of stress as a cup, and you can only fill that cup up with so much stress in a day/week before it starts overflowing. 😥

Find time for yourself to unwind this week. 🥰

*Pt. 2 coming next week ✨

‘’I get a rub before every game, WhY aM I nOt GeTtInG bEtTeR?’’🤥

Here’s my realistic and not-so-glamorous response:

As a therapist, optimal pre-match work includes strapping/taping, talking through some individual warm-up guidance, soft tissue release to give that extra 1-2% help (be it physical or mental, if it helps it helps), advice on what might have happened at the latest training..

If you think about the reality of pitchside care, a therapist probably has 30-40 minutes before the warm-up… to see anywhere from 1 to 10+ people 😅
It basically all boils down to time availability, which is unfortunate for players and the therapist alike.

If you’re not going to make a full individual appointment to get a ni**le seen to in between trainings/games, it’s likely that you aren’t getting adequate attention to detail for injury management/rehab development and if needed, more regular/extended soft tissue release.. purely because there is a line of people after you and only 5-10 minute gaps per person 🤦🏻‍♀️

Therapists at matches, in my opinion, should be non-negotiable, in terms of on-pitch first aid, concussion testing, wound management etc. They are invaluable to player welfare! 💪🏻

Therapists are also very useful for pre-training strapping (e.g. ankle strapping etc) etc… but long-term benefit of therapy treatment is only useful if it’s alongside a proper rehab plan, not instead of, for anything more than just some tightness in a muscle!

I might get some backlash for this, but if you’re feeling targeted because you need a rub before you can play any game…. I’d advise you start thinking of what you’re doing in between trainings/games to help it! 👀

*There is a small proportion of people who are working so hard to try alleviate injuries/ni**les, and just can’t quite get back to full pain-free movement, who find hands-on treatment pre-game extremely helpful. This isn’t for you guys, keep doing your rehab and working toward your goals!

This is for the people who can’t understand why they aren’t getting better while getting rubs every training/match - you likely need to get stronger in some movements + manage your training load 🙆🏻‍♀️

To anybody who is doing a rehab programme their friend followed, or picking a random one from Google for ‘X’ pain… just a reminder that some things that sound similar can be very different!

✨ If you don’t have an injury and you’re just trying to work on pre-hab work / you’ve found something that works for you after trial/error of different mobility/rehab plans.. absolutely brilliant.
But if you’re still living day to day in pain or constantly having to change things in training/adapt life because of a ‘ni**le’ that won’t go away… maybe you’re following the wrong guidance!

This is a loose info graphic on an injury example, showing similarities between two injuries that could definitely get misdiagnosed if you were to start chatting to a friend/family member/co-worker etc. and start comparing stories.

🧐 While they might look the same from a quick glance (shoulder pain… sore overhead… getting dressed is painful…) they are actually very different.
👀 These differences can be seen by zoning in on exactly what aggravates the pain, the type of pain, clinical testing and a heap of other things. Therapists study for years to learn how to accurately identify these things… just like accountants learn how to do taxes and teachers learn how to teach. Nobody expects you to be able to self-diagnose or rehabilitate yourself!

Trial and erroring rehab and exercises is a good thing, trying new things and seeing the possible benefits … but just a gentle reminder to make sure when you’re injured you get professional advice first, to avoid hurting yourself further.

Let’s face it, both you and the therapist want you to be pain and injury free as soon as possible, so why go not work together to get there the quickest and safest way possible 🤗

*Just to note, the description of the two different injuries here are loose clinical findings that one might expect to hear/find from their patient, they are not 100% and every case/injury holds a large ‘it depends’ factor… and that would take much more than an Instagram sized Venn diagram to go through! 😅

Give the page a follow for more info drops and rehab ideas 😎

Chronic Pain: pain that gets gradually worse over a period of time.

Every injury, pain and individual’s perception of such is different. There is no one size fits all approach to injury management or recovery. It’s an absolute rollercoaster.

The best thing I can ever recommend is to reach out to somebody you trust to look after it.

I have clients constantly coming in almost embarrassed that they’re coming in with small aches and pains, as if you’re only allowed ask for help if you’ve lost a leg or broken an arm.
Get things checked out early, while it’s still a ‘ni**le’ and reap the rewards. Take a break from looking after everybody else and look after yourselves! ✨

Book in to LPtherapy through the link in bio (both in person and online consults available) to figure out what the issue is and work through it together with expert guidance from our qualified therapists☺️

Skipping the rehab stages 🤕😓

This first image might seem familiar to you personally (or you might know somebody 👀). People can often fall victim to returning to play too early. From my experience both as a player and a therapist, the reasoning behind the rush back varies….

- genuine ignorance for the need of progressively overloading rehab
- impatience
- external pressure from coaches/teammates/parents/community
- financial issues
- poor time management
… and the list goes on.

Sometimes people are lucky, especially when they’re young and recovery is so plentiful. They can get injured and either never see somebody or see somebody once and be good as new.

However, dependent on the injury this is probably not the case for everybody. Injuries need to be assessed and a managed properly… unfortunately this does mean that your first rehab session will equip you with the exercises you need to step straight back onto the field/court/arena again after mastering them. Often times people will get (at most) one set of physio exercises and then go straight back to play, unsure of why the exercises ‘didn’t work’ 🤦🏻‍♀️

There’s an intricate process behind rehabilitation planning and prosecution. I would love for everybody to come through my door and leave sprinting out ready to go. However, that’s very rarely the case. Rehab is about making whatever the damaged structure is secure enough again through range of motion, strength, proprioceptive and progressive loading exercises, with the end goal to allow you to perform whatever task you’re inhibited from with the injury, to the highest ability.

✨ Be open with your therapist and don’t be afraid to ask questions. A lot of people just ask ‘how long will I be out?’… but understanding the stages to get back to full activity can actually work as a huge motivator to promote rehab adherence and compliance, from my own experience with clients!
✨ Good communication between the client and therapist is so important to optimise recovery and rehab from injury.

☘️ Great weekend in Rome with the U22 men’s Irish Volleyball Team at the European Championship Qualifiers ☘️ 🇮🇪 🇮🇹

The future is bright for this bunch of lads, coaches and management. Months of hard work and sacrifices went into the lead-up to the competition… it was a pleasure to be involved and help out. The team faced Italy, Portugal and Israel throughout the weekend. Fantastic to watch and serious talent to be seen from the players.

New found love of volleyball spectating, secured 🔑

☘️ An incredible weekend spent in Reykjavík with the most inspiring and hardworking ladies and coaches you could meet! ☘️

Being present for not only three hard-fought games of the , but all of the behind-the-scenes strategising, recovering, physical and mental preparation … it makes you appreciate the effort put in on another level.

It was a privilege to help keep the bodies healthy this weekend, and I look forward to seeing what Irish Women’s Volleyball has in store for the future. 🤩

‘’I was told to rest’’ 😓

^ This is something I hear time and time again from my clients. They get injured, whether it be a once off incidence or a gradual overload, and are told to fully rest. Often times, they stop training/moving altogether for fear of making it worse. This not only has physical side effects, but also mental. Movement and/or exercise is so key for mental health, and for that to be stripped, coupled with suffering from pain, is a horrible combination.

When you’re injured, absolutely you often have to lay off using whatever it is that’s painful, in order to heal. However, full rest is not often needed.

You and your therapist/doctor might have to be creative, but there is very often a way around it. A different exercise stimulus, a different training split… just a new way to move!

So next time you’re injured, make sure to spend 5 minutes with your healthcare provider asking what you can do, so you have a focus while rehabbing your injury! ✨

I love seeing people in my work still going to their exercise classes, adaptive training or whatever their interests are.. with a few small tweaks training through injury could be closer to your reach than you might think.

big weekend over and out with the best team (and now colleague 👀) 💚 👯‍♀️

✨ LPtherapy Service List ✨

Things have changed slightly in LPtherapy over the last 14 months, it’s true when they say that everyday is a school day!

Very excited and grateful to have the opportunity to add in some new services under the LPtherapy handle, and even more enthusiastic to start/keep executing them! 🙌🏻

Forever learning from clients, family, friends and all the people at to ensure the best possible healthcare provision and staying in tune with current needs of clients 👯‍♀️

*these services are absolutely NOT exclusively for the athletic population. The term Athletic Therapist (my qualification) simply signifies a specialisation in musculoskeletal health. This differs from similar professions such as physiotherapist as AT’s focus solely on musculoskeletal issues (bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons etc), while physiotherapy dives into cardio respiratory and neurological conditions also! Absolutely fantastic job and credential, but different from Athletic Therapy! ☺️
LPtherapy’s clientele ranges from GAA players to desk workers to Crossfit Athletes to grandmothers who took a bad fall! Anybody with a body - we’re here for you. 😁

4 Tips to Support Your Active New Year’s Resolutions 🏋️‍♂️🤸🏻‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️

Every year I hear people promise to start walking ___ minutes a day, do ___ amounts of workouts a week, run __ kilometres a week…

These are unreal goals to set - keeping active is such a key aspect in a healthy lifestyle! However, I often see people end up with injuries, ni**les and other issues that stop the resolutions from being sustainable for the entire year.

Here are 4 tips to make your resolutions possible for the entirety of 2022 and beyond…

1) Gradually increase your activity. If you currently only run once a week, try increasing it to 2/3 times for January, and gradually on an extra day - don’t bump up the volume load to 7 days instantly!
The same principle can be applied to any other form of exercise/activity you fancy increasing.

2) Sleep 💯 at least 7 hours a night and strive for closer to the 9 mark. Sleep is so key in effective recovery and good health. Aim to increase sleep per night by 30 minutes from your current schedule and work from there 💪🏻

3) Give 5-10 minutes everyday for mobility. Whatever your issue is - tight hips, neck tension … put 5-10 minutes aside every morning/evening to improve your mobility and give back to your joints.

4) Hydrate and fuel enough to support your extra activity - often times people increase activity without considering other aspects of their lifestyle. Increased activity = increased sweat and calorie burn. Make sure to replenish your supplies to match your activity level and prepare for your next session.