Book a discovery call today
Book a discovery call today
Book a discovery call today
Book a discovery call today
Book a discovery call today
Rehabbing an ACL can be overwhelming. During your discovery call and first assessment, we focus on education, clearly outlining the road to recovery ahead. We’ll answer all your questions, build trust, and ensure you feel confident and prepared for the months ahead.
Pre-op preparation is crucial. The harder you work before the operation, the better your outcome will be. We’ll focus on strength and conditioning to set the foundation for a successful recovery.
Right after surgery, we guide you through pain management, swelling reduction, and gentle movement to kickstart your recovery. Early wins, like restoring range of motion, are crucial.
Our rehab packages gives you unlimited access to our top-tier facilities, recovery tools, state of the art equipment, all at an affordable rate. Rehab five days a week and get back to the sport you love faster. Treatment begins right after surgery for the best outcomes.
As you progress, we focus on more intensive rehab and training. This includes personalized exercises, one-on-one support, and advanced techniques to build your strength and endurance. We start challenging you differently, introducing more complex and sport-specific movements to ensure continuous improvement.
Throughout your rehab journey, whatever challenges arise, our in-house multidisciplinary team is here to collaborate and provide comprehensive support. Our team includes sport medicine doctors, sport psychiatrists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, sport dietitians, and more.
Get ready for the demands of your sport with creative and tailored strengthening exercises. This phase focuses on sport-specific drills and activities to ensure you’re fully prepared.
As you near the end of your rehab, we focus on getting you back in the game. Engage in sport-specific runs and field sessions, complete a full return-to-sport block, and benefit from neuromuscular testing to ensure peak performance.
Precise measurements are key to effective rehab. With our state-of-the-art equipment, we monitor your progress meticulously, ensuring you’re ready for each step and a safe return to sport.
Optimizing the outcome of ACL prehabilitation involves a comprehensive approach that reinforces strength and proprioception while aiming to decrease the loss of functional capacity pre-operatively or if they decide to go the non-surgical route. By focusing on targeted exercises that build muscle strength around the knee, individuals can create a more stable joint environment, reducing the risk of further injury. Incorporating proprioceptive training enhances the body’s ability to sense and react to movements, which is crucial for maintaining balance and coordination. This holistic approach not only prepares the knee for potential surgery but also helps maintain overall functional capacity, ensuring that individuals can return to their daily activities and sports with confidence and reduced risk of complications.
This is the most critical phase of ACL rehab as it sets us up for success for the entirety of the journey. Our goals during this phase are simple; to reduce swelling, achieve full terminal knee extension, and to maximize the quadriceps contraction. The initial stages after ACL surgery are the most critical phase of rehabilitation, setting the foundation for the entire recovery journey. During this period, the primary goals are straightforward yet essential: reducing swelling, achieving full terminal knee extension, and maximizing quadriceps contraction. Effective management of swelling helps to alleviate pain and prevent complications, while regaining full knee extension is crucial for restoring normal gait patterns and preventing long-term issues. Additionally, focusing on quadriceps activation ensures the strength and stability needed to support the knee as recovery progresses. This foundational work is vital for a successful and smooth rehabilitation process.
Additional Resources – Quadriceps Activation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
This phase focuses on restoring muscle mass postoperatively with a strong emphasis on lifting and movement patterns to rebuild strength. Alongside this, there is continued attention on neuromuscular control to ensure proper movement quality and knee stability. By targeting both muscle mass restoration and neuromuscular control, this phase is crucial for regaining confidence in movement. The emphasis on precise and controlled movements ensures that the knee can handle increased activity levels safely. This stage is significant as it sets the groundwork for preparing the individual for the return to run protocol, a key milestone in the rehabilitation journey.
Additional Resources – Neuromuscular Training following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
This phase of ACL rehabilitation marks a shift from recovery to training, as it is where the return to run protocol is initiated. The primary focus is on building maximum strength while also working towards achieving optimal cardiovascular fitness. The strength-building exercises are designed to ensure the knee can handle the demands of running and other activities without compromising stability. Simultaneously, improving cardiovascular fitness supports overall endurance, which is essential for a full return to athletic activities. This balanced approach ensures that the body is well-prepared for the increased physical demands that come with returning to sport.
The implementation of this phase is usually the most motivating for athletes as we work into sport specific exercises including progressive cutting, pivoting, change of direction, plyometrics, agility, and maximum power and velocity. During this phase, the therapist is challenging the athlete in a multitude of ways to prepare them for a full return.
AT LAST! Where all of the hard work has paid off. The athlete will return to sport following a comprehensive set of evidence-based tests, some of which they will have encountered at earlier stages. These tests are crucial for reducing the risk of re-rupture. For final clearance by the therapist, the athlete must meet specific performance criteria and demonstrate balanced side-to-side symmetry.
At LiveActive Sport Medicine, our evidence-based approach to ACL rehabilitation ensures that each phase of your recovery is guided by the latest scientific research and clinical best practices. Our multidisciplinary team works together to provide comprehensive care, addressing every aspect of your rehabilitation journey. From pre-op preparation to your triumphant return to sport, we are dedicated to helping you achieve a full and lasting recovery.
Optimizing the outcome of ACL prehabilitation involves a comprehensive approach that reinforces strength and proprioception while aiming to decrease the loss of functional capacity pre-operatively or if they decide to go the non-surgical route. By focusing on targeted exercises that build muscle strength around the knee, individuals can create a more stable joint environment, reducing the risk of further injury. Incorporating proprioceptive training enhances the body’s ability to sense and react to movements, which is crucial for maintaining balance and coordination. This holistic approach not only prepares the knee for potential surgery but also helps maintain overall functional capacity, ensuring that individuals can return to their daily activities and sports with confidence and reduced risk of complications.
This is the most critical phase of ACL rehab as it sets us up for success for the entirety of the journey. Our goals during this phase are simple; to reduce swelling, achieve full terminal knee extension, and to maximize the quadriceps contraction. The initial stages after ACL surgery are the most critical phase of rehabilitation, setting the foundation for the entire recovery journey. During this period, the primary goals are straightforward yet essential: reducing swelling, achieving full terminal knee extension, and maximizing quadriceps contraction. Effective management of swelling helps to alleviate pain and prevent complications, while regaining full knee extension is crucial for restoring normal gait patterns and preventing long-term issues. Additionally, focusing on quadriceps activation ensures the strength and stability needed to support the knee as recovery progresses. This foundational work is vital for a successful and smooth rehabilitation process.
Additional Resources – Quadriceps Activation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
This phase focuses on restoring muscle mass postoperatively with a strong emphasis on lifting and movement patterns to rebuild strength. Alongside this, there is continued attention on neuromuscular control to ensure proper movement quality and knee stability. By targeting both muscle mass restoration and neuromuscular control, this phase is crucial for regaining confidence in movement. The emphasis on precise and controlled movements ensures that the knee can handle increased activity levels safely. This stage is significant as it sets the groundwork for preparing the individual for the return to run protocol, a key milestone in the rehabilitation journey.
Additional Resources – Neuromuscular Training following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
This phase of ACL rehabilitation marks a shift from recovery to training, as it is where the return to run protocol is initiated. The primary focus is on building maximum strength while also working towards achieving optimal cardiovascular fitness. The strength-building exercises are designed to ensure the knee can handle the demands of running and other activities without compromising stability. Simultaneously, improving cardiovascular fitness supports overall endurance, which is essential for a full return to athletic activities. This balanced approach ensures that the body is well-prepared for the increased physical demands that come with returning to sport.
The implementation of this phase is usually the most motivating for athletes as we work into sport specific exercises including progressive cutting, pivoting, change of direction, plyometrics, agility, and maximum power and velocity. During this phase, the therapist is challenging the athlete in a multitude of ways to prepare them for a full return.
AT LAST! Where all of the hard work has paid off. The athlete will return to sport following a comprehensive set of evidence-based tests, some of which they will have encountered at earlier stages. These tests are crucial for reducing the risk of re-rupture. For final clearance by the therapist, the athlete must meet specific performance criteria and demonstrate balanced side-to-side symmetry.
At LiveActive Sport Medicine, our evidence-based approach to ACL rehabilitation ensures that each phase of your recovery is guided by the latest scientific research and clinical best practices. Our multidisciplinary team works together to provide comprehensive care, addressing every aspect of your rehabilitation journey. From pre-op preparation to your triumphant return to sport, we are dedicated to helping you achieve a full and lasting recovery.
An ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury involves a tear or sprain of the ACL, a key ligament that helps stabilize your knee joint. This type of injury often occurs during activities that involve sudden stops, changes in direction, jumping, or landing, and is common among athletes in sports like soccer, basketball, and skiing.
The rehabilitation process for an ACL injury typically takes between 6 to 12 months, depending on various factors such as the severity of the injury, the type of surgery performed, and the individual’s overall health and commitment to the rehab program. Your specific timeline will be discussed during your initial assessment and adjusted as you progress through the stages of recovery.
The cost of our ACL rehabilitation program varies based on the specific services and duration of your treatment plan. We offer a range payment options to provide access to our facilities and services. During your consultation, we’ll provide a detailed breakdown of the costs and discuss the best plan for your needs. All of our practitioners are registered with their respective governing bodies and most of services can be billed directly to extended health benefit plans.
We encourage you to call your insurance company to better understand that breakdown of your plan.
Yes, our goal is to help you safely and effectively return to your sport. Through our comprehensive and evidence-based rehabilitation program, we prepare you for the dynamic demands of athletic performance. By the final phase of your rehab, you’ll engage in sport-specific drills and neuromuscular testing to ensure you’re ready to compete at your best and minimize the risk of re-injury.
The timing of when you can start physical therapy after ACL surgery varies based on your surgeon’s recommendations. Typically, physical therapy begins within the first week after surgery. Early intervention is crucial for managing pain, reducing swelling, and starting gentle movements to restore range of motion. Always follow your surgeon’s specific rehab protocol to ensure the best outcomes.
For your first physical therapy appointment, please bring the following:
The frequency of physical therapy sessions varies throughout the rehabilitation process. In the early stages, you may need to attend sessions 2-3 times per week to ensure close monitoring and rapid progress. As you advance and your knee gains strength and stability, the frequency may reduce to 1-2 times per week. Your therapist will tailor the schedule based on your specific needs and progress.
To aid your recovery at home, consider the following:
Your progress will be meticulously monitored through regular assessments and the use of advanced testing equipment. This equipment allows us to measure strength, asymmetries, and movement patterns with precision. Additionally, your therapist will track your improvements in range of motion, strength, and functional mobility, adjusting your rehabilitation plan as needed to ensure optimal recovery.
Yes, we understand that recovering from an ACL injury involves mental and emotional challenges as well as physical ones. Dr. Taylor Armstrong, our sports psychiatrist, is available to support athletes dealing with the psychological impact of their injury and recovery. Additionally, Jeff Hendler, a life coach specializing in helping individuals who have suffered ACL injuries, is here to provide guidance and motivation throughout your rehab journey. Our holistic approach ensures you receive comprehensive care for both your body and mind.