Return to Sport after ACL recon

The general principles of rehabilitation after knee surgery are:

* Control pain
* Reduce swelling
* Increase range of motion
* Normalise gait
* Increase strength and improve balance
* Functional exercises, including sports specific drills
* Return to full training, for athletes
* Return to full play, for athletes

In order to return to play after knee surgery, in general, and after ACL reconstruction, specifically, certain pre-requisites need to be met:

* Full symetrical knee motion, easily achieved (sitting on heels and hyper-extension)
* No swelling in knee
* Symetrical strength in both legs (at least 80% strength in weaker leg compared to stronger leg and ideally stronger than pre-operative strength in un-injured leg)
* Completed sports specific rehabilitation and agility programme
* Full level training for 3-4 weeks

The average time to return to sport after ACL reconstruction are illustrated below. These assume a well motivated patient, complying fully with the rehab guidelines and the rehab proceeding optimally:

* The average time to return to full level sport in the UK following ACL reconstruction is 9-12 months.
* With the ipsilateral PTG and accelerated rehabilitation programme I use, the average time to return to full sports is about 5-7 months.
* With a contralateral PTG, the time can be reduced further to about 4-5 months.

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