Periodization in ACL Rehab: An Overview

Course Description

Periodization programs for ACL pathology within the rehabilitative and performance fields are desperately needed, but standardization and implementation are currently inconsistent and really only hypothetical at this point. This course will focus on the current concepts surrounding the rehabilitation of athlete status post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and/or surgery to include current outcomes and will instruct therapists and trainers, through the use of video demonstrations, in how to use progressively graded exercise that is periodized to best meet the demands of most field athletes who are status post ACL repair or reconstruction for return to sport.

An overview of the following concepts will be included in this course: the periodization of training and rehabilitation for the biomotor and bioenergetic abilities of athletes’, a hypothetical model for the ACLr rehabilitation process with regards to exercise variability and through progressive resistance exercise both in the weight room and through field activities, contributing societal factors for subpar return to sport rates, a proposed system in teaching athletes change of direction mechanics for field and court sports, and a brief recap of alternative technologies to assist in the athletes return to sport.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Recognize a hypothetical periodization model for the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction or repair (ACLr) rehabilitation process with regards to exercise variability and progressive resistance exercise both in the weight room and through field activities.
• Identify different periodization models with regards to rehabilitation after ACL.
• Recognize potential opportunities for different members of the patient care team to interject their expertise while carrying out their professional responsibilities within their designated scope of practice.
• Summarize current concepts surrounding ACL injury and outcome epidemiology, along with commonly experienced pitfalls that patients during the rehabilitation process status post ACLr encounter.
• Utilize technologies that can be integrated into ACLr rehabilitation, and ultimately, the patients training and/or performance regimens once the patient is cleared for return to sport.

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Intermediate

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to complete a 10 question post-test with a minimum passing score of 70%.