Blog - Owen Feeney Athletic Therapy

10

Mar, 2020

Product Review: Muscle Mender

I’m back with another product review. This time I am talking about Massage Guns from Muscle Mender. I was gifted one of these as a Christmas present – nice timing considering I am still recovering from an ACL surgery and doing hands on work on your own legs isn’t exactly the easiest! Muscle Mender is a muscle or massage gun that uses high velocity but low impact contact to help release tension or pressure in soft tissue areas. Like many other muscle guns, the concept is simple but its appearance is very slick, with a simple control and speed screen on the handle of the gun. Plus they are an Irish Company – it’s always good to support small local businesses!Read More

6

Nov, 2019

impact gumshields

Product Review: Impact Gumshields

I tried out the impact gumshields or the first time. These are 3D printed gumshields. The manufacturing process is pretty simple and probably takes as long as the normal molding process of regular gumshields where they are placed in boiling water and then molded in the mouth and left the cool in water so they contract and hold their new shape.

Impact does things very differently, so a small scanning machine is used to scan the exact shape of the teeth and gums as well as the palette. This takes roughly two minutes and mainly just involves keeping your mouth open while the technician does there job with the scanner. After that time you can see your scan of your mouth and then choose what colour or design you want for them.

14

Aug, 2019

Product Review: d3 Rigid Tape

Recently I was introduced to d3 tape products, now since college to the present day, I have used an unnatural amount of tape, from zinc oxide, EAB, kinesiology, and underwrap, as well as insulation tape but that was more for athletes to use themselves. The tape I first tried out was zinc oxide which I go through the most out of any type of tape, be it ankles, knees or shoulders zinc oxide is simply a staple when it comes to taping athletes.

2

Jul, 2019

Goal setting for health entrepreneurs

Setting goals for your business is one of those things we all hear lots about when we’re setting out as entrepreneurs. Writing a business plan, knowing what you’ll be doing in 1 year, 5 years – maybe even 10 years time. That’s the right way to do things, isn’t it? Thinking big! Aiming for the stars!

But when we’re up to our eye-balls in getting paperwork for tax, attracting our first clients, watching our finances, learning how to navigate social media and everything else the shouty world of the internet tells us we need to have to run a successful business, who has time to set goals?

The thing is, setting goals for our business is essential to keep moving forward, boost our confidence and guarantee growth.

Without goals we’re all just paddling along doing the same old things, wondering why it’s (often) not working.

Here are my top 3 tips when it comes to setting goals as a health entrepreneur:

30

Jun, 2019

Long Distance Running – Common Injuries + What To Watch Out For!

Potential Injuries – But don’t be deterred!

Joint damage isn’t uncommon.

Our joints, especially in our lower bodies absorb massive amounts of force when we move and do so more when we run. It’s the ankle and knee joints that bear the brunt of this impact and these joints especially can become damaged when they’re overloaded. Make sure you train in shoes made for long-distance running and that they give your joints extra support. Many athletic shoe stores will guide you towards finding the right shoe for your gait. Avoid over-striding when you run and make sure you add variation – take breaks from hard-surface running and add weights exercises, swimming or cross-country training to your programme; this will give your joints a bit of a break!

25

Jun, 2019

The Benefits of Long Distance Running

This is the second in the series of the long distance running blogs I wrote with gympluscoffee. This piece focuses on the benefits of long distance running and how they come about.

Improved cardiovascular health

Your ticker will thank you for it! Long-distance running is the gold standard activity for improving your cardio health. Cardio training or aerobic activity is the repetitive contraction of muscle groups in your body, and that’s long-distance running basically by definition! Aerobic activity is the best form of training for your heart as it pushes your entire vascular (circulatory) system getting more oxygen into your bloodstream.

23

Jun, 2019

How to Prepare for the Demands of Long-Distance Running

Below is the blog I made with gym plus coffee earlier in the year regarding how to prepare for long distance running events. Hopefully it will help those preparing for upcoming events now that marathon and long distance running season is well underway.

The Exchange: Long Distance Running

So many of our community members are runners – long and short distance – and we know A LOT of you have set yourself goals for 2019 that involve upping the stakes a bit and going a little further and a little longer.

15

Jun, 2019

Nutrition Basics for the Everyday Athlete with Amy Meegan

Whether you are semi-professional or a complete novice, knowing the basics of nutrition are essential for every athlete. On a very general level, good nutrition is important for three key areas:

Repair and recovery of muscles after exercise.
Building immune system and fighting infection.
Maintaining vital organs

A good diet will not turn an average athlete into a superstar, but a poor diet may prevent an athlete from achieving their potential. In general, athletes have higher nutritional requirements than those of the general population. This includes higher calorie, fluid and some vitamins and minerals.

9

Jun, 2019

Wellfest 2019

So this year we trialed the Healing Area at WellFest! Now that we have seen it from both sides I am going to bring you through the highlights of WellFest 2019! It’s a festival geared at those interested in the world of health and fitness – so where else is more appropriate to find two Athletic Therapists! It’s packed with talks, classes, workshops and food vendors.

2019’s Top Five Picks

First up Ben Coomber, a coach who has openly talked about the relationship with nutrition and improvements in performance without a lot of the typical industry ideals of what people should be putting into their bodies and what they actually need to put into the body. He is a very approachable figure even holding a very Frank and honest Q&A with people who had attended his talk and was happy to give personal examples and was happy to answer any questions who could.

6

Jun, 2019

Age is only a number

Recently I spoke about the benefits of exercise and injury prevention for everyone even those well into their older ages. People of every age benefit from exercise and injury prevention at every level but many people after a certain stage let their levels of activity fall away and its this gradual but long term situation where activity levels and different forms of exercise become obsolete in our lives which will only make things harder for ourselves in the future.

This concept that we suddenly reach a best before date is something that has never really made sense. We live for much longer and also work for longer into our lives. As such we should be more active in our later lives as well doing a greater variety of activities into our later lives. But sadly we have yet to keep up with this increase in our life spans with many