PROGRESSIVE MOBILISATION FOR AN ACL INJURY
Whilst sitting, have your heel on a slippery surface (i.e. tiles) with a towel placed under the heel. Pull the foot back towards you so the knee becomes flexed.
Stand in front of a chair. With your standing leg, point your toes inward (medially). Keeping your other leg straight, place your heel on the chair and pull your toes back toward you. Reach the outside of your foot with the same sided hand as the leg you are stretching. Pull your foot to the outside and place the other hand on your knee of the leg being stretched. Push downwards.
Stand with the feet shoulder width apart and exercise band looped just above both knees. Bend slightly at the knees and bend forward at the hips, keeping the back straight. Slowly rotate the knees outward, as far as your ROM will allow, before returning to an aligned squat position.
Whilst sitting, have your heel on a slippery surface (i.e. tiles) with a towel placed under the heel. Pull the foot back towards you so the knee becomes flexed.
Progressive mobilisation for an ACL tear should typically commence in the first 1-2 weeks after the reconstruction surgery. The aim of each of the above exercises is to minimise pain and swelling to the cruciate ligament, assist the athlete in returning to a normal walking pattern, achieve a full range of extension to the knee joint and at least 120° of knee flexion. Exercises including knee slides, knee flexion, knee contractions and squats assist in restoring the quadricep and hamstring muscles to their optimal strength prior to injury. The early stages of progressive mobilisation should also aim to increase single leg control on the injured side.
To aid in rehab, regular pain relief is essential to let the knee move. Crutches assist in moving while the knee is sore, and muscles are yet to be redeveloped. Using crutches correctly can aid in normalising the walking pattern. Regular ice and compression are another beneficial step in the rehabilitation process. Manual therapy from a physiotherapist is highly beneficial in the early stages of rehab. Massage of the leg aids pain relief and helps with lymphatic drainage to control swelling. Hands – on patella mobilisation and knee mobilisation techniques restore knee mobility and can have a further pain – relieving effect.
FOOTNOTES
Information and images taken from:
Essential ACL rehab exercises 2017, Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy, viewed 10 November 2020, <https://sportandspinalphysio.com.au/11-essential-acl-exercises-early-stretch-strengthen-after-acl-knee-reconstruction/>.