Dr. Dylan Edwards, PT, DPT | Sports Rehab & Performance

💥 ACL REHAB FOR THE ATHLETE ≠ BASIC THERAPY.

Surgery reconstructs the ligament. Rehabilitation must rebuild the athlete.

At TNT Physical Therapy, ACL rehab follows an integrated, periodized performance model:

0️⃣ PRE-SURGERY PREHAB
Reduce irritability, restore motion, activate the quadriceps, and build the strongest possible starting point.

1️⃣ PROTECTION
Respect graft biology, manage pain and effusion, restore knee extension and flexion, normalize gait, and regain muscular control.

2️⃣ LOAD INTRODUCTION
Reintroduce key movement patterns while progressively building local tissue tolerance and global physical capacity.

3️⃣ STRENGTH ACCUMULATION
Develop the quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, calves, trunk, and total-body strength needed for athletic movement. We assess absolute capacity—not symmetry alone.

4️⃣ TRAINING INTEGRATION
Earn the progression into running, plyometrics, acceleration, deceleration, curvilinear movement, cutting, and reactive drills.

5️⃣ RETURN TO PERFORMANCE
Integrate full-speed movement, fatigue, decision-making, team training, positional demands, contact when appropriate, and competition-level workloads.

Graft type matters. Patellar tendon, quadriceps tendon, hamstring, and allograft procedures each bring different healing considerations, donor-site symptoms, and loading priorities. The plan must reflect the surgery, the athlete, and the sport.

Progression is guided by more than the calendar:

✅ Symptoms, effusion, ROM, and healing
✅ Strength and rate of force development
✅ Jumping, landing, and movement strategy
✅ Running and high-speed exposure
✅ Deceleration and change-of-direction capacity
✅ Sport-specific workload tolerance
✅ Confidence and psychological readiness

A nine-month date is not automatic clearance. Neither is a 90% limb symmetry score.

At the appropriate stage, ACL rehab should start looking and feeling like performance training—because returning to the field requires more than getting the knee “better.”

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