ACL Post-Op Rehab

Nevada Physical Therapy has been leading the Sports Medicine Physical Therapy industry in Reno for more than 30 years; the longest privately owned clinic in Northern Nevada. We have more experience managing elite athletes (and weekend warriors!) than any facility in Northern Nevada and this commitment to excellence comes from a passion for what we do. Our commitment to providing our patients with the best possible care available not only locally, but nationally, stems from the dissatisfaction many of our therapists have personally had after going through these recoveries themselves prior to becoming clinicians. Almost 50% of our staff have had at least one ACL injury requiring surgical intervention and having been through this process ourselves, we realized that many of the rehabilitation protocols were underwhelming at best and at worst, did little to minimize future risk of re-injury. Combined with relatively poor outcomes for ACL reconstruction when looked at as a whole, we knew the current rehabilitation protocols needed to be updated and took it on ourselves (while working with our teams’ surgeons) to re-write it in its entirety. Our patients having the best possible outcomes and maximizing their surgical potential are the reasons we do this, after all. The ultimate goal is whatever your goals are!

We spend countless hours reviewing the best evidence available to create a model based on sound literature and science; there is no room for guruisms, “body hacks’, or propagation of misinformation seen so often in our industry. Just science, honesty, and an understanding that the road to success is paved with hard work and consistency. Nevada Physical Therapy will guide you along this path, coach you through your movements, and give you every tool you need to succeed but at the end of the day, it is the patient’s drive and dedication that will make the difference.

You can read about what to expect during the various phases of your recovery here but if you are currently researching where to choose for your post-operative ACL rehab in Reno, here are a few questions to ask when interviewing clinics (yes, you should interview them).

Question 1: How do you and your clinicians keep up to date with current ACL research?

Our Answer: As mentioned above, we spend countless hours reviewing research and our clinical education director shares weekly research articles to our staff on various topics. There are literally thousands of articles published on ACL rehab and it would be impossible to try and stay up to date without it being a specific focus. Related to this, Nevada Physical Therapy is not only a member of the Sports Special Interest Group (Sports SIG) within the APTA, but our professional network is carefully curated to create a resource sharing infrastructure that is hard to match. Relevant research articles are shared daily as well as informal and formal discussion groups are participated in regularly. It is no overstatement to state that we are on the very front of evidence-based medicine as it relates to getting athletes back to competing at the level they were at before they were injured.

Question 2: How is your clinic equipped to properly rehabilitate an athlete after ACL surgery?

Our Answer: You need not only space to move but the appropriate equipment required to get an athlete strong enough for returning to sport and we have both in abundance. Our midtown location is 4300 sq ft of carefully designed space to optimize training and rehab. We have 25 yards of turf for sled work, run skill development and jump training. We have 5 squat racks, a deadlift platform and over 4,000 lbs of weights to create a true training environment. Combined with specialized testing equipment, advanced staff training, and an entire infrastructure built around ACL rehabilitation, there is no better equipped location in Reno when it comes to getting athletes strong and back to competing.

Question 3: How has your protocol for ACL rehab changed or been updated over the years?

Our Answer: The update never ends. This is currently our 4th version of the ACL protocol we have become known for and those updates come from both our research review process as well as from clinical expertise and experience. We have true strength coaches on staff to review programming and we monitor where our programming can be improved regularly. Nevada Physical Therapy has created a culture of open discussion and reflection and ideas are regularly discussed on how we can be better. What this means for our patients is that they will always have a clinician who is monitoring, reflecting and updating their process when it comes to doing what is best for our athletes and patients.

Question 4: How do you decide when an athlete is ready to return to playing?

Our Answer: Our protocol is rooted on objective progression criteria to help guide the path. From getting off of crutches to deciding when an athlete can begin running and jumping, we have reviewed countless research articles to create a very clear progression model. As mentioned several times throughout this website, our industry is doing a woeful job when it comes to ensuring an athlete is prepared for returning to competitive sport. You can read in depth about our RTS testing but briefly, we have a 10-point testing battery to create one of the most thorough and evidence-based testing protocols in sports medicine. Your physical therapist will test you regularly and update your program based on those results to guarantee that we have addressed any deficits or risk factors for reinjury prior to returning to competitive sport activity.

Physical therapy is medicine and all good medicine is a work in progress. Subsequently our ACL rehab protocol is an ever evolving product that our patients can trust is one of the most comprehensive in not only Reno but in the industry. We also believe this process is best when it is collaborative in nature. The patient, the PT, and the surgeon are working towards the same goal- getting you safely back to pre-injury activity and we work specifically with both you and your surgeon to create the best possible experience.