McEntee Physio & Performance Centre

McEntee Physio & Performance Centre Bringing you the best in Chartered Physiotherapy and Performance Conditioning Chartered Physiotherapists

01/04/2026

Hurdle Stepover - Hip Lock Drill

This hurdle stepover and hip lock drill is a great exercise that can be used as part of movement prep blocks or as a technical drill to work on functional hip mobility and the hip lock position. 🔥

🔎With the stance leg, we are looking for a co-contraction of the hip and trunk muscles to prevent a pelvic drop. This is important for running and landing ex*****on.

📍With the free leg, we are looking for controlled hip mobility (flexion, abduction and external rotation)

30/03/2026

🔎For all of our ACL athletes (and lower limb injuries in general), it is crucial to assess how the body functions both above and below the site of injury. While strengthening the quadriceps and hamstrings is is a big focus in ACL rehabs, calf strength and function is often overlooked.

🎯In this example of a calf raise it’s clear that there is a limitation in the athlete's end-range plantar flexion (right side), which is restricting the ability to move through full range and subsequently impeding on calf function.

❗If left unaddressed, this ultimately will limit the ability to generate the force needed during high speed running and sharp changes in direction, with poses as a risk factor for extra stress on the knee.

27/03/2026

Window Wiper - External rotation Mobility 💪

Stiffness in the shoulder joint can lead to issues and compensatory movement strategies if not addressed early on!

Laying a good foundation of rotational mobility is paramount in early stage shoulder rehab, particularly those who have been immobilised in a sling for a period of time. 📈

This exercise, with the use of a dowel/stick, is a nice way to work the rotational mobility of the right shoulder in this clip without too much load on the rotator cuff muscle. ✅

Rotation happens through the shoulder when doing lots of reaching tasks and it's important to regain this fully prior to advancing to the next phases.

25/03/2026

Eccentric Hamstring Strength

🔎Eccentric hamstring strength refers to the strength of the muscle whilst it's lengthening (in this exercise the part of the movement where the foot is moving out)

🎯Choosing a band that is too difficult to pull in using one leg and then using the opposite leg to pull the affected leg in allows us to overload the eccentric part of the movement.

This is a nice alternative for those who don't have access to a hamstring curl machine to increase eccentric strength after a hamstring strain or for those with hamstring tendon issues✅

23/03/2026

Co-Contraction Bridge

🎯The foam roller co-contraction bridge asks the calf complex (soleus and gastrocnemius muscles) to work as part of a team with the hamstrings to support the knee joint isometrically.

🏃In running gait, these muscles have to co-contract and work in synergy to stabilise the knee in mid-stance and to assist with an efficient propulsive phase.

📍This is a nice variation from and can be performed as a double leg exercise to start before progressing to a single leg variation.

20/03/2026

Hurdle Hop

👀The medial hurdle hop helps develop the ability to absorb and produce force. The “stick” phase trains the body to absorb & control when exposed to landing forces before transitioning into the next movement.

When we talk about agility, speed is often the first thing that comes to mind. However, agility also involves the quality of our deceleration, our ability to control that movement as well as how efficiently we can direct the force we produce.📈

18/03/2026

Bulgarian Split Squat - Floating Heel🔥

This exercise shifts greater demand onto the ankle complex specifically targeting control & strength.✅

Foot control is relevant in all lower limb rehab and is quite often a forgotten necessity.

📍Cue: Keep the heel floating

16/03/2026

Inner Range Quads Strength & Extension Control

🔎Inner range quads strength refers to the strength of the quad muscles when they are in a shortened position (when the knee is nearly straight)

❎After knee surgery or injury a deficit in inner range strength is common. This can lead to difficulty in regaining full knee extension range as the quad muscles lack sufficient strength to access / control the last few degrees of the movement.

This exercises on the leg press is a nice way of restoring inner range quad strength and can be used as a progression to traditional bed based inner range strength exercises🎯

13/03/2026

Mid Foot Dissociation:

🔎Mid foot mobility, the keystone of the medial arch. The mid foot serves as an attachment point for structures to support the inside arch of the foot, the tibialis posterior tendon being the most notably soft tissue structure in the context of what we see in clinic.

👀Inadequate movement in the midfoot can place additional stress through this tendon (which is invariably lacking in its function anyway - a likely contributor to the lack of adequate movement of the midfoot in the first instance) and can lead to painful symptoms in this region as well as the medial shin/knee/ankle when repetitive loads are placed through it during activities such as running.

✅Maintain 3 points of contact with the first toe, fifth toe, and heel. Aim to keep these points of contact as you drop the arch downwards & draw it upwards.

There is indeed movement necessary at the rearfoot for this to happen, but in the context of what we are trying to achieve here, our cue is to minimise movement at the heel🎯

Our aim in this case is to move the midfoot independent of the forefoot and rear foot✅

11/03/2026

Barbell single leg elevated bridge:

🎯The single leg elevated bridge is a posterior chain focused exercise targeting the gluteal and hamstring muscles. This can be used in the mid-late stage of rehab to address deficits in strength, endurance, and functional limitations in the posterior chain.

🔎This exercise can be used with or without the barbell. Using the barbell, we are targeting maximal strength using high load and lower reps. Without the barbell, we can target posterior chain strength-endurance with no load and a higher rep range.

✅As part of a return to play battery, the single leg elevated bridge can be used as a return to play marker. A score of < 20 was poor, 25 average and > 30 good.

09/03/2026

This single leg RDL variation, among other things, challenges foot and ankle control on the standing leg.🔥

The rotational force generated & released increases the challenge of control & stability of the trunk, pelvis and hip as well as really testing how these structures can coordinate around a stable foot/ankle.🎯

06/03/2026

Unilateral hamstring sliders:

👀We're seeing an influx of hamstring injuries into the clinic in recent weeks as GAA season kicks off. Whilst no two situations are exactly the same, high speed running is a common activity associated with injury. Another, is injury occurring when the hamstring is lengthened.

🎯This exercise works on eccentrically controlling the hamstring with an additional trunk lean, effectively putting the hamstring under more lengthened stress through both its attachments at the knee and pelvis. Here we intend on bridging the gap to deal with demands of gameplay when the hamstring is more vulnerable.

We need to build tolerance to tissues being stressed in a lengthened state and address this within our hamstring rehab / prehab / training.📈

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Navan
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