Rehab has essential components that are based in science/research, experience of the clinician and lastly, the needs of the individual patient. There is no one size fits all for rehab. Even if you have side by side identical injuries, they will differ in how they progress and respond to the intervention which is why personalization is so important. Keep reading to learn more about the pillars of rehab.

The first step to any good rehab program is symptom control. If we can’t control the symptoms, then it makes it tough to rebuild the injured anatomy. Often times people like to skip this important step by either pushing through pain or completely resting – neither is the right answer.

Often times the best way to decrease symptoms is to:

• move through pain-free range of motion

• activate muscles in the area

• the classic "avoid painful activities"

Obviously not all injuries require that exact prescription. Anything that might be a fracture, complete muscle/ligament rupture, or nerve injury should be immobilized until you can get a full evaluation by a medical professional.

Once the injury starts to become more stable we want to deliberately work to improve range of motion and increase muscular activation. We will start to build better movement patterns and work into all of the available ranges of motion. The activation of the musculature should not only be what touches that joint but also at least one joint on each side.

For example with a knee injury we want to address knee flexion and extension, tibial rotation, as well as calf and thigh activation. In addition we also want to look at foot mechanics/strength, hip strength/activation, and lastly core stability/activation.

As the patient becomes more comfortable with sport and duty related activities, it is completely appropriate to start them on return to play progression. We want this to be a smooth transition from rehab to normal activity

Getting them into individual drills or team warm-ups is a great way to help keep them bought into the process while still protecting their recovering injury. This also allows us to observe them in a live scenario that isn't maximum effort.

I am looking for their physical confidence, ability, and mechanical compensations. Even more important ,and often overlooked, is the confidence the athlete has in their recovering injury. If they are displaying hesitancy, then we will design some drills to help them improve that confidence.