Stage 5 of the ACL Rehab

What to Expect In Stage 5 Of The ACL Rehab.

Welcome back to the ACL Rehab Stages series. We are at Stage 5 of the ACL Rehab! That means it is about 6 to 9 months after surgery and we have three main objectives in this stage:

1. Max out your jumping. We introduced jumping in the previous stage but now we want to go for an all-out effort. So get that car out of the first gear and put it into fifth! This is where you increase your power output, cover more distance, and introduce more complex jumps, such as one-legged jumping, cross-over jumping, and box jumps. Check out this resource from USA Basketball on how to improve your vertical.

2. Sport-specific training. This is super exciting for most athletes, this is when you can start doing non-contact drills for your sport, such as dribbling the ball, being on the field, and you can even join your team again for *cough, cough* non-contact drills.

You should be wearing your brace for all of these activities, by the way. Yes, I know it’s itchy, your leg gets extra sweaty and maybe rubs the other leg, and it might squeak, but give the brace a funny name and make it your best friend. :-)

3. Prepare for return-to-sport testing. The return-to-sport testing involves a whole battery of tests and the description deserves its own special place, it’s really just too much information to include here. But can you see the light at the end of the tunnel. You are preparing to return to your sport! You are almost there, all of your mental struggles, emotional roller coaster and physical hard work is about to pay off.

So, check out this next article to learn more about post-ACL return-to-sport testing! And leave a comment below about what your experience has been thus far with the ACL Rehab Process.