ACL Rehabilitation
Objective, data-driven ACL recovery from surgery through return to sport.
Not Cleared — Earned
ACL recovery isn’t a calendar. Nine months post-op doesn’t mean you’re ready. At Forward, we built the Return+ ACL protocol because the standard wasn’t good enough. Six stages of objective testing — quad and hamstring strength, hop performance, movement quality, and psychological readiness — with clear thresholds at every phase. You know exactly where you stand, and so does your surgeon.
We Built the Protocol
Return+ isn’t something we adopted — we created it. Our ACL program tracks limb symmetry index across quad, hamstring, and hip strength. We run four hop tests, assess movement quality through step-down and single-leg stance, and measure psychological readiness with the ACL-RSI. Your surgeon gets a data-driven report at every milestone — not a paragraph of subjective impressions.
What We Measure
- Quad & hamstring strength — handheld dynamometry, LSI ≥ 90%
- Hop tests — single, triple, crossover, timed
- Movement quality — step-down control, single-leg stance, Y-Balance
- IKDC — knee function outcome (target ≥ 85)
- ACL-RSI — psychological readiness to return (target ≥ 75)
Prehab Changes Outcomes
If surgery is on the horizon, we start before the scalpel. Patients who go into reconstruction stronger come out stronger. We build quad activation, restore full ROM, and establish aerobic fitness before your surgery date — closing the gap between where you are and where you need to be before it matters.