How NOT to rehab a knee injury
I had a patient yesterday, 33, had a knee surgery in 2017.
He was able to attend 1 rehab session then his insurance stopped paying for visits.
Since then he’s just been living normal life.
He came to see me because
his walking is affected
strength endurance
I see versions of this on a daily basis. An acute Issue (surgery) turns into a chronic issue)
When I do see it, I just pretend that you had surgery yesterday.
Day 1 we treat you like you have a quad strain
I need to know the quad works and you have full ROM.
As soon as you meet the above we move to the next phase. If you JUST had surgery, this could take 4-6 weeks (or longer)
If you had surgery years ago or just a knee issue, this could take a 1 visit.
After “Day 1” is over the you start a rehab program to restore strength of the
quad
hamstrings
hips
calves
This goes on somewhere between 6 weeks and forever. Now the stage is set for plyometrics and returning to your sport.
Sport could be basketball, or it could be running with your kids.