McEntee Physio & Performance Centre

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

16/02/2026

Dribbles🏃

Ankle-Shin-Knee dribbles are demonstrated in the video. These drills are commonly used in the return to running preparation phase post injury to work on front-sided mechanics.🔥

📝Front-sided mechanics refers to everything that happens in front of the body’s centre of mass during the running gait cycle.

This phase is characterised by:
-triple knee flexion (flexion of the hip-knee-ankle)
-knee drive
-foot contact under the centre of mass

These drills are useful for:
-reducing injury risk (over-striding, trunk lean)📉
-improving running economy and load distribution📈

✅Try to:
1. Maintain an upright torso - ribcage stacked over pelvis
2. Foot contact under centre of mass
3. Dribble to the correct height - ankle (small), shin (medium) and knee (high) knee drive
4. Cyclical leg movements with good rhythm
5. Arm swing
6. Quick foot turnover

13/02/2026

Vertical Drive: Achilles Rehab - Overcoming Isometrics🎯

🔎The calf and achilles absorb 6-8 times body weight on each step when running. Therefore it's crucial we are strong around this ankle complex in order to contribute to force production (along with the knee and hip)

📈It's important we perform this with maximal effort and building load tolerance with increasing duration from 10-45 seconds holds.

🎯We often test this in clinic with our force plates for our ankle injuries. Striving for x2.5 times body weight and symmetry within 10% to guide our rehab plan.

We recently welcomed Neil Welsh to Navan with all our team on-site for an in-house workshop. A previous colleague of Ba...
13/02/2026

We recently welcomed Neil Welsh to Navan with all our team on-site for an in-house workshop.

A previous colleague of Barry’s at SSC Santry, Neil has a wealth of experience when it comes to pitch based movement, agility and speed development, which has been evident from his involvement with both individual athletes and Kildare GAA in recent years.

We planned this workshop with Neil towards the end of last year as part of our review & update of our pitch based rehab pathway.

We acknowledge the importance of continuity from gym-based rehab, to pitch-based rehab, to a calculated & planned integration back to mainstream training. Our Astro turf area within our facility in Navan allows us to take you from injury diagnosis right through to actually moving well on the pitch, taking every step of the way, no shortcuts, no guesswork, nothing left to chance.

11/02/2026

🔥Double Leg Pogo Hops:

Key Clinical Benefits:

✅Stretch–Shortening Cycle (SSC) Restoration: Enhances elastic energy storage and recoil of the Achilles complex. Needed for that of running based activities

✅Tendon Load Capacity: Provides progressive, cyclic loading to improve tendon stiffness and tolerance (e.g., Achilles tendinopathy)

✅Ankle Stiffness & Dynamic Stability: Improves active stiffness regulation

✅Rate of Force Development: Restores explosive plantarflexor capacity for return to running and sport

Clinical Role:
Serves as a transition from strength training to higher-level plyometrics, provided pain is low and adequate calf strength has been achieved

09/02/2026

🔥Front Foot Elevated Single Leg Calf Raise (Bent Leg)

This exercise works the same muscle groups that the seated smith machine single leg calf raise works. This is a nice variation for those who may not have access to a smith machine.

📝This can be incorporated into lower limb strength and conditioning, and rehabilitation programmes (calf strains, achilles' tendinopathy, foot and ankle complaints as well as more proximal injuries to the knee, hip and groin).

🎯The soleus is one of two muscles which comprise the calf complex. In running, the soleus absorbs forces of up to 6-8 × bodyweight. As a result, it is important that we have sufficient capacity to tolerate the demands of running and reduce injury risk.

06/02/2026

Scapular and Thoracic Spine Mobility

Both scapular (shoulder blade) and thoracic spine (upper back) movement are important to consider in the rehabilitation of shoulder injuries & in reducing the risk of shoulder injury.📉

Thoracic spine stiffness and reduced shoulder blade movement can place excess force on the structures in the shoulder leading to injury and pain.❎

This exercise is a nice way of improving movement in both of these areas. Try to keep your lower body still and rotate from your shoulders.✅

04/02/2026

Foot and ankle control: Running rehab 🏃

👉We've been seeing correlations in clinic with achilles and medial shin pain and associated poor foot/ankle control. This is primarily around the medial arch when loading it (when running/squatting)

🔥This exercise is a nice way to involve the kinetic chain of knee, hip, and ankle whilst challenging the inner aspect of the foot.

📈Better foot and ankle control will offload areas of the kinetic chain that might be overloaded unnecessarily.

02/02/2026

Seated cable hip flexion

🔥The seated cable hip flexion exercise is a constraint based exercise that targets the hip flexors.

✅This is important to help address excessive back sided running mechanics (majority of a runner’s leg movements happen behind the body).

🏃Back sided running mechanics:
- Reduce front sided mechanics
- Can place excessive load on the lumbar spine and hamstrings
- Can reduce running economy with excessive ground contact time
- Can contribute to an overstrike when running

✅It’s important to:
1. Sit tall with a neutral pelvis (ribs stacked over pelvis)
2. Flex the hip to 90°–110° - avoid trunk lean forward
3. Slow eccentric (return to start)

30/01/2026

Knee Extension Range of Motion

📝Knee extension refers to the straightening movement of the knee joint.

🎯After knee injury/surgery achieving full knee extension range of motion is one of the first goals.

📊A deficit in knee extension range of can be due to reduced inner range quads strength. This exercises focuses on increasing quad strength in inner range so that we can access the full extension range of motion.

28/01/2026

Forward Trunk Lean Heel Raise:

✅By simply adding an additional forward trunk lean increases activation through the toes

📈A forward trunk lean showed greater recruitment through the toes when compared to a vertical standing heel raise with an additional 20% of body weight.

🎯This isn't about working harder but more about where the load goes. Positioning of the body is crucial for muscle recruitment.

👉Something to keep in mind for runners, and running based sports to increase demands placed through the foot/toes - crucial for that push of phase of gait.

Credit to for this great insight!

26/01/2026

🎯Barbell single leg step up

📍The barbell single leg step up is a compound movement that utilises the quadriceps, glutes and hip/trunk stabilisers.

🔎It is an exercise we commonly use in physio-led strength and conditioning programmes, early-mid stage rehab (such as ACL rehab) and for lower back rehab.

It is important to:
1. Use full foot contact
2. Minimise pushing off the trail leg
3. Control the descent

We use our coaches eye to look for:
1. Pelvic drop
2. Knee valgus pattern
3. Trunk lean
4. Reduced eccentric control

These can all be addressed in a deficit-based rehab programme.📝

23/01/2026

Inner Range Hamstring Strength

👉Inner range hamstring strength refers to the strength of the muscle in a shortened position (when the heel is close to the hips).

✅Restoring hamstring strength through the full range is essential post injury. Deficits in inner range strength are commonly seen in those with recurrent hamstring strains and after ACL reconstruction where a hamstring graft is used.

🔥This variation (from ) forces us to work only in inner range and can be progressed by adding a band as shown in the video.

Address

Mullaghboy Industrial Estate
Navan
C15TD7Y

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 9pm
Tuesday 7am - 9pm
Wednesday 7am - 9pm
Thursday 7am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 7:30pm
Saturday 8am - 12pm

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+353469062265

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