Dealing with an ACL injury that’s keeping you off the field or out of the gym? we can help.
ACL injuries can be a devastating blow to your sports and fitness goals. Not only are they incredibly painful, they significantly restrict your stability which stops you from doing the activities you care about.
Luckily, ACL reconstruction surgery is incredibly advanced these days and there’s an overwhelming amount of research for specific rehab to get you back to where you left off (if not even stronger).
The team at Elite HP thrive in helping our athletes return to sport and we’ve helped a long list of people with ACL injuries. We aren’t satisfied until you’re back on the field and feeling strong again!
Click ‘Book Now’ to visit our friendly team, or keep reading to learn more about ACL injuries and how we treat them.
About ACL INjuries
What Is An ACL Injury?
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the knee joint. It is one of the major ligaments in our knees. It provides stability by preventing excessive forward movement of the shin bone (tibia), and controlling internal rotational forces.
How Do ACL Injuries Happen?
An ACL tear typically occurs during activities that involve sudden stop, changes in direction, quick pivoting motions. The injury commonly happens when the knee is forcefully twisted or bent inward with the foot planted on the ground. This can occur during sports like soccer, basketball, skiing, or even during accidents such as falls or collisions.
How Do I Know If I Have An ACL Tear?
If you have an ACL tear you may hear a popping sound at the time of injury, followed by immediate knee pain and possible swelling in the knee joint. Your knee function may feel unstable or give way, making it difficult to put weight on it.
After the injury you’ll also have loss of range and daily activities may be impacted due to pain and instability (e.g exercise, walking, climbing, exiting cars).
The best way to confirm an ACL tear is with an MRI. This confirms the diagnosis and can also identify any other tissues that may have been damaged during the injury.
How Do I Heal An ACL Injury?
Unfortunately a torn ACL does not heal itself. Depending on the goals, one will commonly have to undergo knee surgery. ACL Surgery is not always required for instance if the patient does not having specific sporting goals they may be fine with conservative management and rehabilitation.
Whether you have undergone surgery or opted for non-surgical treatment, our comprehensive ACL recovery program is designed to have you feeling like yourself again.
Helping you regain strength, stability, and confidence on your path to achieve your goals.
Want to get back into the action?
Our goal is to get you back on the court, field or gym without constantly having to worry if you’re going to make your knee injury worse. Our specialists have treated many ACL injuries and we’d love to help you too.
our 10 step rehabilitation plan for treating your acl injury
An initial consult to assess your injury and it’s status.
Setting goals & understanding your tailored ACL rehab program
Pain and swelling management using hands on soft tissue work and dry needling
Restoring range of motion in both knee flexion and extension as well as reestablishing normal gait patterns
Building strength in the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and glutes in a safe controlled environment
Enhancing proprioception, coordination and balance with a goal of achieving a single leg squat
Maintaining cardiovascular fitness
Return to sports preparation with running, jumping mechanics as well as continued strength development that is sport specific
Develop maximum speed, multidirectional jumping/running and develop lower limb power
Prevention of other injuries and compensations in the ankle and hip
how long will acl rehab take?
Phase 1: Acute Phase (Week 0-4)
Reduce pain and swelling
Restore range of motion – getting knee straight
Regain quadriceps muscles control.
Phase 2: Basic Strength Training & Neuromuscular Control (Weeks 5-8)
Full range of motion
Improve muscles strength
Normal walking gait
Enhance balance and proprioception
Light functional activities
Phase 3: Full strength (Weeks 9-12)
Close to maximum (1RM) muscle strength
Good single leg stability and strength
Coordination and landing training
Light run/ jog
Phase 4: Preparation For Sport (Week 13-16)
Similar total leg strength
Normal running
Sport-specific training – jumping, pivoting, stepping
Focus on advance agility & plyometric
Phase 5: Return To Sport (Weeks 17 and beyond)
Return to full activity and sports participation
why choose elite health & performance to work on your acl injury?
With combined over 50 years of experience our practitioners have seen it all and know the exact direction we need to take your sports injury to get you the best results that you are looking for.
Our sports physiotherapy team all understand the goals of a sporting demographic as they live and breathe the lifestyle along with you. From basketball, rugby, volleyball and crossfit our team have represented us at Elite levels so we know what makes a high level sports person tick and we know that you need the best results and are itching to get back to being active.
100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
We are so confident in our ability to treat patients injuries that if you aren’t 100% satisfied with your first consult, we will refund your entire appointment fee. If you’re sick of dealing with lingering pain, book in with our sports physiotherapists today and we’ll help you get back to what you love doing.