Who we help
Athletes & Sports Performance
From GAA players and runners to golf professionals: better biomechanics for speed, power and fewer injuries.
Sprinting is the ultimate form of human movement. If you can sprint well, you can build muscle, strength, power, and mobility all at the same time. This is what we focus on at Functional Patterns, getting people to a closer approximation of good sprinting mechanics.
People have many training goals when it comes to exercise. Increasing strength on a particular lift, becoming more flexible, or building muscle via bodybuilding style training. However these don’t always result in moving better relative to sprinting. If you truly want to improve the way you move, training relative to the mechanics found in sprinting is a good place to start.
We work with high level athletes looking to improve their biomechanics and gain a competitive advantage, as well as helping people prevent injuries from happening in the first place.
Client results
What it has looked like for our clients
Client result Low Back Pain in GAA: Biomechanics are Key
Here is a snapshot at Evan’s progress over 18 months using Functional Patterns. He has made some huge changes to his running mechanics..
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Client result Knee Pain Case Study: Patellar Tendentious Rehab
John is a GAA footballer and would have pain in his knees following any running. We identified the root issue and he is now back to his best.
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Client result ACL Recovery: Gait Before & After
Great progress here from soccer player Luke. He had previously ruptured his ACL, and wanted to understand the underlying movement issues..
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Client result Back Pain in GAA Players: Improve Posture, Enhance Performance
Back pain is becoming a more common issue among GAA players in Ireland, with studies showing that 30% – 50% of athletes will experience back pain at some point during their career. It’s difficult to suggest why, but it seems modern training practices seem to be a big contributor.
Read moreHow we work
We start by finding the cause
We do a postural assessment and gait analysis to get both static and dynamic views of your body, then build an individualised training plan.
- 01
Assess
Posture, gait and history
Photos from four angles and slow motion video of you walking and running, with a detailed history of your injuries, exercise and day to day routine. Our comprehensive assessment adds a 3D postural scan.
- 02
Correct
Fundamentals and corrective exercises
Self myofascial release to prime the body, then corrective exercises that teach you what positions your body should be in and give you better body control.
- 03
Integrate
Dynamic, full body training
Once you have the basics, we load the body more heavily and challenge it with dynamic movements, strength training done in a way that corrects imbalances rather than compounding them.
From the blog
Our articles on athletes
Sprint Mechanics: Improve Speed & Prevent Injury
Sprinting is the ultimate form of human movement. If you can sprint well, you can build muscle, strength, power, and mobility all at the same time. This is what we focus on at Functional Patterns, getting people to a closer approximation of good sprinting mechanics.
Read more
Understanding Hamstring Injuries: Symptoms, Causes & Recovery
Hamstring injuries have quickly become the most common of all sports related injuries over the last few years accounting for 10% to 30% of all injuries caused while playing.
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Dublin City Marathon 2025: Better Biomechanics For a Better Race
With the Dublin City Marathon fast approaching, people will be training hard and upping their mileage in preparation for the last weekend in October. Unfortunately, what can often come with this increase in load and distance is injury and training setbacks.
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FP Dublin Welcomes Golf Pro From Belgium for Intensive Training
We were delighted to welcome golf professional Richard to Functional Patterns Dublin this week for an intensive training block. Richard not is not only a golf pro, but professional hockey player to boot.
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The 2 Biggest Problems With Deadlifts: Asymmetry & Instability
Do you currently have deadlifts included in your training regime? This exercise holds it's place as one of the three big compound lifts done by many.
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Movement Is Medicine – But Only If The Quality is Right
"Movement is medicine” is often oversimplified. In this blog, learn why the quality of your movement matters much more than just staying active, and how poor movement can reinforce pain rather than resolve it.
Read moreGoogle reviews
What our clients say
“My daughter 14 years old has an assessment and training session with Tom meade for function pattern training. Tom was very friendly and very big help . He took time in assessing where improvements would be made in planks and squat. He Explained everything very nicely, the online program definitely made more sense with his input. My daughter was very happy with the first training/assessment session.”
“Had my initial assessment with FP and Stephen this morning and it was a fantastic experience. I had some apprehensions going in, not really knowing where I'm at and feeling like I may not comprehend alot and it may be too advanced for me. Stephen is a great person to work with, completely put me at ease, was very clear about what he wanted from me and knew when to motivate and when to ease off. An incredibly knowledgeable person he was able to clearly identify the issues I have and a roadmap of how to rectify them. I would highly recommend”
“It was a great experience, and if you truly want to improve your health by understanding how the human body functions, I believe this is currently one of the best approaches. To give an example: when you visit a physiotherapist, you’re often prescribed a few exercises and corrected on one or two movement variables. With Functional Patterns, the approach is much broader. Your posture, walking gait, running mechanics, and throwing patterns are all analyzed. Because these are the movements you perform every day, improving them can help address the root cause of many dysfunctions rather than just the symptoms. The focus is on restoring natural human function, how you stand, walk, run, throw, and coordinate your body as a whole. Every exercise has a purpose, progressing from quality input to efficient output. If you’re curious, give it a try. Be patient with the process, stay pragmatic, and persevere. Your body has an incredible capacity to adapt when you consistently move better.”
“After many years of going to various physios etc, I find FP is finally the one that works for me and also makes sense. I’ve found Tom great to work with, as he works at a pace that suits me.”
“I had never heard of Functional Patterns until I discovered a studio in Donabate. I have ms along with back problems and I was looking for something that might help. My first session with Tom we went through my med history and did some training to get an idea of my base line. We progressed through the programme and Tom worked around me when I had bad spasams. It really is great to have Tom and co. who will listen, and knows how the body works and explains why certain movements are to be avoided. Fascinating to learn how stretches I thought were helping were not doing me any favours at all! Tom explained all this to me and me makes sense. The practice also has a body imaging scanner which shows a 3d 360 view of your body and how you hold yourself and how you lean to the left or right. Pretty scary seeing yourself on the scanner. However, it's a fantastic tool to have and it really makes sense when you can see before and after pictures. So....I would definitely recommend Functional Patterns, it really is a great one on one physio, strength training, coordination,balance and a bit of psychotherapy when I'm having a bad day 😀.”
“I’ve had trouble with scoliosis and it had been affecting my running biomechanics. I had gone to a few traditional physios but nothing ever worked. I’ve only seen Tom twice but already feel the improvements in my running and day to day life”
“Had a car accident 10 years ago that left my body with issues particularly my back. Could not drive more than 40 minutes without feeling sore and tired. With Tom I was able to do karting for more than 40 minutes while hitting the kerbs regularly at speed and without being fazed or fatigue afterwards. It's no magic or quick fix . What you get out is what you put in and Tom's guidance got me to this point .”
“The best place in the country to go if you're dealing with pain or the aftermath of an injury. The level of knowledge, attention to detail and support given by the practitioners at FP Dublin is levels above anything else I've done. They really go above and beyond to help you. I can't thank all the gang here enough for all their help. If you're in trouble with pain or injury or you're just looking for a better way to exercise don't hesitate to book in, highly recommended!”
“I have used Toms services for both myself and my son on a few different occasions. We both had tricky injuries that needed the right attention. Tom is a dream to deal with, he not only fixes the injury but he also educated us both on why it happened and what we need to keep doing to stop the injury from coming back. As someone who trains 5 days a week and leads a healthy life not having injuries is hugely important to me as it keeps me in the gym and making progress. I would highly recommend tom and and the team it's a first class service at a time you really need it”
“I have been attending regular sessions with Tom for about two years now. Started out with back and neck issues with very limited movement and a lot of discomfort. After following the recomended exercises and great support from Tom, I now have much improved movement, flexibility and core muscle strength. A complete game changer. Thanks Tom for sharing your knowledge and expertise, a great result and a completely different outlook on life. Regards Robbie R”
“As a person with Cerebral Palsy Functional Patterns has helped me immensely. Tom and his team are so understanding & have really worked with me to find an approach that works for me, my body & my goals. It’s the most hands on, effective & co operative physio I have had & I’m so grateful to have found FP as a practise but especially FP Dublin.”
“I spent years doing traditional S&C and got absolutely nowhere with my posture or structural integrity of my body. Working with Tom these past years has revolutionised not only my training but every day life. Highly recommend 🙏”
Who we help
Something else going on?
Back Pain
Often low back pain starts with something innocuous and becomes chronic simply because the root cause has never been addressed.
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Posture Correction
From our experience, posture is something that can and should be improved.
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Scoliosis
Too many people are told to “observe” and wait. We believe more can be achieved using the right approach.
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Knee Pain & Running
Knee pain does not always mean that there is an issue with the knee itself.
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Start here
Get to the root cause, not just the symptoms
Start with our comprehensive gait and posture analysis.