Stage 4 ACL Rehab

What to Expect In Stage Four of The ACL Rehab.

Welcome back to the ACL Rehab Stages. We are onto Stage Four of the ACL Rehab. This stage takes place 3 to 6 months after surgery. Let’s review the main objectives for this stage.

ACL Rehab and Jogging.

The number one thing we want to accomplish in Stage Four is you want to start jogging. Hooray!!! This is a big milestone. I bet you are sick and tired of being told, “don’t do this and don’t do that.” This is the stage where we can get our sweat on again! 12 weeks post-surgery is the rough guideline for when you can start jogging again. Some surgeons are a little bit more aggressive and others are more conservative. However, regardless of your surgeon’s timelines, you need to meet the goals that were established in Stage III before you can begin to jog safely.

The Strength Phase of the ACL Rehab.

Next, we need to really start increasing your strength. Hopefully, you have beautiful, full ROM (Range of Motion) body weight squat down by now. So hopefully, we can start reducing the reps and increasing the resistance.

By the way, when I say “full ROM squat” I mean that your booty can go slightly below your knee joint line. Like this guy in the image below, he has nice form.

During this stage of your ACL recovery, you should go from 2 sets of 20 reps of body weight squat to maybe doing 10 reps while gradually increasing your resistance to 10, 20, 30 lbs with a kettle bell. And, when you are ready move onto a squat bar which is 45 lbs.

Cardio. 

Finally, you get to do cardio again! You can start using the elliptical, the rower, the stepper. Enjoy the sweat dripping into your eyeballs. Gross, ok maybe bust out that sweat band again!

Master The Jumping In Stage Four of ACL Rehab.

Learning to jump properly is super important for passing your return-to-sport testing.  It is in Stage Four of the ACL Rehab that we are really going to master it. You’ll need to learn the proper technique, as well as build the necessary muscle strength to complete these movements.

If you want a sneak peek at what the rest of your rehab will look like, or if you think you are behind and need to review the previous ACL rehab stages, download this FREE ACL Rehab Guide now. Knowledge is power, be powerful!