Welcome to the ACL Rehabilitation: Part 6 blog!
In the last ACL Rebabiliation blog post we looked at the criterea involved in returning to sport following ACL reconstruction. Today we are going to look beyond the return. It is important to know that the journey does not end there.
Once the athlete has been cleared to return to sport, it is imperative that they follow a thorough injury prevention program. Re-injury rates following ACL injury are high and can have a significant impact on an individual’s physical and psychological health. People returning to sport are 4 times more likely to re-injure their ACL than those who do not. The re-injury rate can be reduced by up to 50% for each month that return to sport is delayed,
until 9 months after surgery.
A positive ACL injury prevention plan will look to improve control of cutting, turning, jumping, and landing activities. The Melbourne ACL group outline that injury prevention programs should include so key criterea.
ACL Rehabilitation: Part 6 – Key Components of an ACL Injury Prevention Plan:
– It must be an ongoing program. An ACL injury changes the outlook of the knee for life, and care must be taken to ensure future risk is minimised.
– It should consist of plyometric, balance, and strengthening exercises.
– The program should last at least 10 minutes and be performed before every training session and match.
There are several injury programs that can be utilised to try and reduce ACL injury risk that are available on the internet. Examples include:
– The 11+ Warm Up (see at bottom of page)
It is also recommended to continue work in the gym to build strength and control. More than half of ACL re-injuries occur within 2 years after surgery, so it is so important to focus on keeping the knee is strong as possible.
This brings our 6-part blog series on ACL Rehabilitation to a close. I hope that you have found the posts helpful and informative. If you have any questions or have been affected by ACL injury, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on alex@centrl-therapy.uk and I will be happy to help.
