Nigel Plummer


Nigel Plummer  (Associate)

Chartered Physiotherapist

Physiotherapy in Galway & surrounding areas

 

Background

Nigel completed his BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy degree in an accelerated Honours programme at the European School of Physiotherapy in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2018. After graduating, Nigel returned to his hometown of Galway to begin his Physiotherapy career.

Clinical Experience

Nigel has spent many years broadening his experience in multiple clinical areas. Notably he worked for several years at Galway University Hospital where he gained experience working in orthopaedics, care of the older person, medical, and rehabilitation in Merlin Park Hospital. While working in GUH, Nigel began to work at Evidence Based Therapy Clinic providing individual musculoskeletal physiotherapy appointments and specialised exercise classes.

In the years previous to working in GUH, he spent time in a number of different settings. He started out in private practice treating common musculoskeletal and chronic pain conditions of the body. He went on to gain experience in specialised palliative care in the Galway Hospice treating people with life limiting conditions. He has worked in nursing homes around Galway county providing Physiotherapy services to care for the elderly. This involved falls prevention, seating recommendations and rehabilitation of orthopaedic, neurological and respiratory conditions.

Nigel has developed a special interest in physiotherapy-led group exercise classes and since graduating has furthered his skills by becoming certified in:

  • Matwork Pilates.
  • Reformer Pilates. 
  • Strength and Conditioning (NCSC). 

He also has huge experience in leading group exercise classes. He worked in a number of busy gyms providing Pilates classes to their members. It was during this time he developed a creative flare in his approach to instructing Pilates which earned him a great reputation around Galway.

Therapeutic approach

Nigel’s therapeutic approach is to comprehensively assess and identify and all the factors contributing to the pain or injury. He believes strongly in creating shared goals together and guiding people through their rehab journey with encouragement, reassurance while building resilience in the individual to help them thrive again.

Nigel’s main specialist interest area is with spinal complaints including neck, low back and mid back pain and injury as well as sciatica and other presentations of nerve pain. Pain in these areas can have a big impact on people’s quality of life and for some it can be disabling, preventing them from engaging in activities they love and participating in normal day to day routines.

Rehabilitation and performance exercise classes

Nigel is enthusiastic about getting people moving and empowering them to use physical activity and exercise as a tool to improve their physical and mental health. His goal is to get you stronger, pain-free and motivated to overcome pain, injury or weakness. 

Nigel currently teaches:

His Physio-Led Pilates classes are aimed at improving the strength of your core and postural muscles, to improve your breathing mechanics during exercises and to gain better control over your body. You can read more about Physiotherapy-led Pilates here.

The Balance & Bone-Builders programme is programme specifically designed to help people with osteoporosis and osteopenia. You will be guided through what type of exercises are best to promote stronger bones and better balance to reduce your risk of falls. You can read more about the Balance & Bone-builders programme here and you can hear Lead Physiotherapist Eoin Ó Conaire discuss physiotherapy for bone health here.

The Flex and Move Programme is suitable for anyone with difficulties with their flexibility or mobility and/or weakness of the core stabilisers. It is particularly suitable for office workers who spend a lot of time sitting as it helps to address the typical muscle imbalances related to sitting for long hours. You can read more about the Flex and Move programme here.

The Spinal Rehab Programme has been designed to bridge the gap for people who have had an episode of acute neck or lower back pain and are not quite ready to get back into exercises classes. This programme blends gentle mobility, flexibility and stability in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar sacral spine while also adding in education to enhance your knowledge of why you may be experiencing pain.

The Swim-fit programme is to help with injury prevention and optimisation of strength and conditioning for swimming. This programme will develop the various physical qualities necessary to endure the demanding sport of swimming. You can read more about the Swim-fit programme here.

When not helping patients in the clinic, Nigel can be found surfing the waves of the West coast or hydro-foiling. He is also an endurance sea swimmer and has completed the famous 11Km Francis Thornton Memorial Galway Bay swim.

Memberships 

Nigel is a registered member of CORU and the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapist (ISCP).

Appointments

Nigel offers individual physiotherapy appointments on :-

Monday’s 9am-5pm,

Tuesday’s 2pm-8pm

Saturday mornings 9am-1pm.

If you would like to book into any of Nigel’s Physio-led exercise programmes or for an individual appointment, please call 091 727777 or get in touch via the contact page.