Improve Knee Extension After ACL Surgery
Restoring knee extension has always been a good topic of discussion among clinicians. Its very important goal for all clients, especially post surgery.
Previously soft tissue, joint, and stretching techniques have always been utilized as primary measures. I'm going to suggest that we are missing two extra components!
Have a watch to this weeks video to learn the Top 3 Ways to Improve Knee Extension.
Hint: Version 2 & 3 are rarely ever used. Most people stick to the standard extension stretching, TKE's, patella mobilization (which is highly overrated...), and soft tissue work.
Must do #1) Low load, prolonged duration stretching 4-6x per day for 10 minutes. That means doing a knee extension stretch for 40-60 TOTAL minutes throughout the day, not all at once. This is a tried and true strategy that cannot be understated the value and importance of knee extension stretching the first 2 weeks post surgery.
Must do #2) Tibialis anterior exercises to strengthen the lock home mechanism. Everyone does quad work for knee extension, but the tibialis is forgotten about. Still do the quad exercises such as quad sets, TKE's, and eventually knee extensions. However you MUST also consider progressively loading the tibialis anterior for knee extension as well!
Must do #3) Utilizing the hamstrings. More specifically the medial hamstring to improve the unlocking mechanism to allow the knee to bend more comfortably from the extended position which will reduce the guarding and co-contraction around the knee that happens post surgery from pain and edema.
If you are currently dealing with an issue similar to this issue and would like some help, email me at greg@sportsrehabexpert.com
If you are a clinician who is looking to expand their clinical skill set with athletes and the orthopedic general population, I invite you to check out our Sports Rehab Expert "Fast Track" course which is the first step in making you a sharpshooter when it comes to getting results for your clients predictably, reliably, and with ease!
