Don Kelly physical therapy and Acupuncture clinic

14/02/2026

Resisted single leg drop out (with a plastic cup)

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Tie an exercise band around both knees and place a plastic cup upside down on the knee of your weakest leg.
Tighten your core stability muscles before slowly dropping your stronger leg out to the side, pulling against the band.
The weaker leg should remain still, making sure the cup does not fall as your strong leg moves.
Keep your core muscles working whilst you bring your knee back up to the starting position.
Do not allow your pelvis to rotate during this movement.

The resisted single leg drop out is a brilliant low-load core and hip stability exercise. Adding a plastic cup balanced on your pelvis helps improve control and awareness by ensuring your hips stay level.

🔹 1. Improves Deep Core Activation

Targets transversus abdominis and deep stabilisers

Encourages proper abdominal bracing

Teaches you to control movement without arching the lower back

🔹 2. Enhances Pelvic Stability

The cup gives instant feedback if your pelvis tilts

Reduces unwanted rotation during leg movement

Improves lumbopelvic control

🔹 3. Strengthens Hip Control

Works hip external rotators and abductors

Builds control in the supporting leg

Helps prevent hip, groin, and lower back pain

14/02/2026

Bridge single leg with resisted hip abduction

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Tie a resistance band around your thighs just above your knees.
There should be some tension in the band with your legs and feet hips width apart.
Lift one leg off the floor a little.
Ensuring your keep a hips distance between your knees and feet, push through your grounded foot to lift your hips up into the air.
Hold this position, then control the movement as you slowly lower your hips back to the floor.
Check your legs have remained hips distance apart throughout.

The single leg bridge with resisted hip abduction is an advanced glute and core strengthening exercise that adds extra lateral hip activation using a resistance band.

Here are the key benefits:

🔹 1. Stronger Gluteus Maximus

The bridge movement targets the primary hip extensor

Helps improve power for walking, running, climbing stairs, and lifting

🔹 2. Activates Gluteus Medius (Side Hip)

The resistance band forces you to push the knee outward

Strengthens the muscles responsible for pelvic stability

Helps prevent knee collapse inward (valgus)

🔹 3. Improves Pelvic Stability

Single-leg position challenges balance

Reduces hip drop during walking or running

Helpful for people with SI joint or lower back discomfort

The single leg bridge with resisted hip abduction is an advanced glute and core strengthening exercise that adds extra lateral hip activation using a resistance band.

Here are the key benefits:

🔹 1. Stronger Gluteus Maximus

The bridge movement targets the primary hip extensor

Helps improve power for walking, running, climbing stairs, and lifting

🔹 2. Activates Gluteus Medius (Side Hip)

The resistance band forces you to push the knee outward

Strengthens the muscles responsible for pelvic stability

Helps prevent knee collapse inward (valgus)

🔹 3. Improves Pelvic Stability

Single-leg position challenges balance

Reduces hip drop during walking or running

Helpful for people with SI joint or lower back discomfort

14/02/2026

Cat and camel pose

Start on your hands and knees with your back in a neutral position.
Arch your back, lifting your head up and pushing your tail bone out, making a dish with your spine.
Hold this position.
Next, bend your back up by tucking your head and tail bone in and pulling your belly button in towards your spine, making a curve through your back.
Hold this position, and then repeat.

Cat–Camel Pose (Spinal Mobility Exercise) Benefits

✅ Key Benefits

1. Improves Spinal Mobility

Gently moves the spine through flexion and extension

Reduces stiffness in the neck, mid-back, and lower back

Ideal for morning stiffness or prolonged sitting

2. Relieves Back & Neck Tension

Helps ease mechanical low back pain

Reduces upper back tightness from desk work

Promotes circulation to spinal muscles

3. Enhances Posture Awareness

Encourages control of pelvic tilt

Improves awareness of neutral spine

Supports better sitting and standing posture

4. Activates Core & Deep Stabilizers

Engages deep abdominal muscles during rounding phase

Promotes coordination between core and spinal muscles

14/02/2026

Tips to Avoid Hip and Groin Pain

Here are some practical tips to help you stay pain-free and keep your hips strong and flexible:

Hip and groin pain can affect anyone—whether you’re active, sit for long hours, or simply move the wrong way. These areas bear a lot of stress from daily movement, posture, and muscle imbalances. The good news? Many cases of hip and groin pain are preventable with the right habits and awareness.

Prevent hip and groin pain with expert tips from Don Kelly Physiotherapy and Acupuncture in Limerick and Charleville.

13/02/2026

"A trigger point is basically a muscle knot—a small spot in your muscle that gets tight and stays tight. It causes pain in two ways: First, it hurts right where it is because that tightness cuts off blood flow to the area. But more importantly, trigger points are tricky—they usually send pain to other places. For example, a knot in your shoulder can cause a headache, or a knot in your back can send pain down your leg. So when I use trigger point therapy, I’m looking for the source of the pain, not just the spot where it hurts."

13/02/2026

Resisted terminal knee extension

Place a resistance band around the top of your knees, just above your kneecap.
Lunge forward on your good leg with the knee of the back leg slightly bent.
Straighten the back knee as much as you can, pulling against the resistance of the band.
Control the movement as you ease back off the tension, and then repeat the exercise, straightening the back leg.
Keep the front leg in the same position throughout.

13/02/2026

13/02/2026

How Untreated Back Pain Harms Your Body

Low back pain is more than just an ache; it's a critical signal your body sends you.

Ignoring it or hoping it will just disappear is a gamble with your long-term health.

Low back pain is more than just an ache; it’s a critical signal your body sends you. Ignoring it or hoping it will just disappear is a gamble with your long-term health. The Progression to Permanent Physical Damage When you ignore pain, the underlying cause doesn’t go away—it often gets worse....

13/02/2026

Passive knee extension stretch sitting

Sit upright in a chair, and place the heel of your affected leg on a stool or table.
Make sure there is a gap between your foot and your hip as you try to straighten the affected knee as much as you can.
Stay in this position and hold as directed.

Passive Knee Extension Stretch (Sitting) – Benefits
✅ 1. Improves Hamstring Flexibility
Gently stretches the hamstrings, helping reduce tightness that can pull on the pelvis and lower back.
✅ 2. Restores Full Knee Extension
Helps regain full straightening of the knee — especially important after:
Knee injury
Surgery
Prolonged sitting
Swelling or stiffness
✅ 3. Reduces Posterior Knee Tightness
Eases tightness behind the knee caused by shortened soft tissues.
✅ 4. Supports Better Walking Mechanics
Full knee extension improves:
✅ 5. Decreases Lower Back Strain
Tight hamstrings can contribute to pelvic tilt and lower back stress. Improving flexibility can reduce this load.
✅ 6. Safe & Gentle Early Rehab Exercise
Because it’s passive, it’s ideal for:
Post-operative knee rehab
Acute flare-ups
People with limited strength

Who Benefits Most?

People with knee stiffness
Desk workers
Post-ACL or knee surgery patients
Those with hamstring tightness
Individuals with mild lower back discomfort

12/02/2026

Prone thoracic extension over a stability ball boosts spinal health by improving thoracic mobility, strengthening upper back muscles (like the erector spinae and trapezius), and reversing poor posture, such as rounded shoulders or forward head posture. It decreases stress on the lumbar spine, enhances respiratory capacity by opening the chest, and increases overhead mobility.

12/02/2026

Prone over ball thoracic spine extension

Position yourself on all fours over the ball with the ball supporting your pelvis.
Activate your deep stabilizing muscles and bend at the elbows into a half push up position. Maintain good control of your lower back and arch with your thoracic spine.
Hold this position, and then return to the starting position.
Watch that your shoulders are wide and not pulled up towards your ears.

Benefits

1. Improves Thoracic Mobility
Targets stiffness in the mid–upper back (thoracic spine), helping restore normal extension—especially important for people who sit long hours.

2. Reduces Neck & Shoulder Strain
A stiff thoracic spine forces the neck and shoulders to compensate. Improving extension can ease tension headaches, neck pain, and upper trap tightness.

3. Enhances Posture
Counteracts rounded shoulders and forward head posture by encouraging upright alignment.

4. Supports Shoulder Function
Better thoracic extension improves overhead movement, making it beneficial for athletes and gym-goers.

5. Activates Postural Muscles
Engages spinal extensors, rhomboids, and lower traps—key muscles for spinal stability and endurance.

12/02/2026

Eccentric lower back extension

Lie on your front with your elbows bent and hands on the floor next to your shoulders.
Lengthen and align your body through your heels to the top of your head.
Use your hands and by pressing trough the floor lift your upper body up.
Then lift your hands off the floor and using your back muscles lower back to the starting position in a controlled manner.

🔹 Key Benefits

1. Improves Strength of the Posterior Chain
Targets the erector spinae, glutes, and hamstrings — essential muscles for lifting, posture, and daily activities.

2. Builds Better Muscle Control
Eccentric training improves neuromuscular control, helping reduce compensations that can lead to injury.

3. Reduces Risk of Lower Back Injury
Stronger spinal stabilisers improve load tolerance and resilience during bending and lifting tasks.

4. Enhances Muscle Growth
Eccentric loading creates greater muscle tension, which stimulates strength and hypertrophy.

5. Improves Posture
Strengthens the muscles that prevent slouching and prolonged flexed postures.