Return to Sport Stronger & Safer – Reduce Your ACL Injury Risk
Recovering from an ACL tear or other sports injury? Our expert-led program quantifies your risk and selectively trains you to get back on the field performing your best—while minimizing future injury risk.
Why Do You Need to Know Your Injury Risk Before Returning to Sport?
Whether you’re recovering from an ACL tear, returning from another injury, or coming back after time off, understanding your injury risk is key to staying on the field and performing at your best.
🔹 50% of athletes who suffer an ACL tear experience a second injury within 2 years—often due to improper rehabilitation or returning too soon.
🔹 30% of adult soccer players sustain a new injury within their first season back after time off.
🔹 Athletes with a prior lower-body injury are 2 to 3 times more likely to reinjure the same area.
At PreventPT, we identify key risk factors through our comprehensive assessment process and then selectively train to correct movement dysfunctions, strength deficits, and neuromuscular imbalances that could increase your chance of reinjury. Our goal is to ensure your knee, hips, and core are strong, stable, and prepared for the demands of your sport.
Some of the high-risk factors we assess include:
- Poor Landing Mechanics & Knee Valgus – Inward knee collapse and high-impact landings place excessive stress on the ACL.
- Quad-to-Hamstring Strength Imbalance – Over dominant quads and weak hamstrings reduce knee stability, increasing ACL tear risk.
- Hip Weakness & Core Instability – Poor pelvic control leads to compensatory movements that stress the knees.
- Single-Leg Stability Deficits – Reduced control in unilateral movements affects cutting, pivoting, and deceleration.
- Limited Ankle Dorsiflexion – Restricted ankle mobility can alter landing mechanics, forcing excessive knee loading.
- Neuromuscular Control Impairments – Delayed muscle activation impacts agility, balance, and reaction time.
- Asymmetrical Strength & Mobility Deficits – Unbalanced movement patterns from prior injuries increase reinjury risk.
- Poor arch mechanics– A major contributor to poor knee alignment when running and jumping.
Stage 1: Comprehensive 2-Hour ACL Risk & Readiness Assessment
The more risk factors an athlete has, the greater the likelihood of injury. Our 2-hour movement and strength evaluation quantifies these risk factors, providing an objective measure of your ACL injury risk and overall readiness to return to sport. This is followed by a report identifying your movement deficiencies and a plan to target your risk factors to get you performing your best.
📌 ACL Integrity Testing – For athletes with a history of ACL trauma, we assess ligament stability to detect potential weaknesses.
📌 FMS (Functional Movement Screen) – Screens for movement asymmetries, flexibility deficits, and poor motor control that elevate ACL injury risk.
📌 FCS (Functional Capacity Screen) – Evaluates baseline strength, endurance, and neuromuscular efficiency to ensure safe progression back to sport.
📌 Handheld Dynamometry for Strength Testing – Measures quad-to-hamstring strength ratios and muscle imbalances critical for knee stability.
📌 Y Balance Test – Assesses single-leg stability and lower-body control, key indicators for ACL injury prevention.
Stage 2: Mobility Restoration – The Foundation of Safe Movement
If you don’t have adequate mobility, your movement will always be compensated, inefficient, and at a higher risk for injury. At PreventPT, we assess the tissue at fault and then use a combination of hands-on therapy and targeted mobility techniques to improve joint range of motion, soft tissue flexibility, and movement efficiency.
📌 Static & Dynamic Stretching – Enhances flexibility, improves muscle length, and prepares tissues for movement.
📌 Cupping Therapy – Promotes blood flow, reduces muscle tightness, and enhances soft tissue recovery
📌 Foam Rolling & Mobilization Balls – Targets muscle adhesions, reduces stiffness, and enhances neuromuscular activation.
📌 Deep Tissue Mobilization (DTM) – Uses hands-on techniques to release muscle restrictions, improve circulation, and restore soft tissue mobility, reducing stiffness and tension.
📌 Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) – A specialized manual therapy technique using tools to break up fascial adhesions, reduce scar tissue, and enhance mobility, promoting faster recovery and improved movement quality.
Stage 3: Functional Strength & Motor Control
Developing functional strength and neuromuscular control is essential for injury prevention, efficient movement, and athletic performance. Without proper muscle activation and coordinated movement patterns, athletes are at a higher risk of ACL tears, muscle imbalances, and compensatory injuries. At PreventPT, we focus on building strength that translates directly to sport-specific demands while reinforcing proper mechanics.
📌 Motor Control Corrective Exercises – Target movement inefficiencies by enhancing stability, coordination, and muscle activation patterns to reduce compensations.
📌 Resistance Training (Kettlebells, Barbells, Cables, Bands) – Builds strength, endurance, and power while reinforcing proper mechanics and controlled movement patterns.
📌 Single-Leg & Multi-Planar Sport-Specific Movements – Improves balance, agility, and directional control, crucial for cutting, pivoting, and explosive transitions.
📌 Core & Rotational Stability Training – Strengthens deep stabilizers, enhances force transfer, and improves body control.
Stage 4: Power & Reactive Training
By progressing through mobility, motor control, and strength development (Stages 1-3), athletes build a solid foundation for power and performance. Skipping steps 1-3 or rushing into explosive training prior to solidifying your base reinforces poor movement habits and increases injury risk.
📌 Deceleration & Force Absorption Training – Trains athletes to safely slow down, control impact, and reduce strain on the knees.
📌 Plyometric Training – Develops explosiveness, power absorption, and controlled landing mechanics to reduce ACL stress.
📌 Loaded Carries – Enhances core stability, grip strength, and postural endurance for full-body power development.
📌 Olympic Lifts for Power (Clean, Snatch, High Pulls) – Trains rapid force production, coordination, and athletic explosiveness.
📌 Unilateral Dynamic Training (Single-Leg Jumps, Bounds, Lateral Hops) – Improves balance, power transfer, and directional control in sport-specific movements.
Stage 5: Return-to-Sport Testing & Long-Term Injury Prevention
At this stage, athletes have restored mobility, developed strength, improved movement control, and built explosive power. Now, it’s time to validate readiness for full return to sport and implement long-term strategies to stay injury-free.
📌 Sport-Specific Return-to-Play Testing – Assesses strength, power, agility, and neuromuscular control to ensure full recovery.
📌 Hop Testing (Single-Leg, Triple Hop, Crossover Hop) – Measures power, symmetry, and knee stability before clearance.
📌 SFMA & FMS Reassessment – Ensures movement dysfunctions have been corrected to prevent future injuries.
📌 Long-Term Injury Prevention Plan – Provides a personalized strength and neuromuscular training routine to maintain progress.
📌 Continued Performance Training – Athletes can transition into Medical Fitness or Sport-Specific Performance Training for continued development and injury resilience.
Take the Final Step Toward a Confident Return to Sport!
You’ve put in the work—now make sure you’re truly ready to compete at your highest level, reduce reinjury risk, and move stronger than ever.