Mick Hughes:
Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist
M. Sports Physio, B. Physio, B.Ex. Sci.

What are the best exercises for ACLR rehab? This is a question I get asked every week. My response is always the same, "It depends". Exercises change as rehab progresses and every ACLR patient needs an individualised exercise plan to get them back to the activities that they want to participate in. However, if you're struggling for ideas, I've compiled a few of my favorite exercises into a video (in no particular order) to get the knee going during different phases of reha

Looking for a good way to "warm up" your knee prior to a run/training session/leg day in the gym? Give this little 10min circuit a whirl rather sitting on the exercise bike for 10mins. FYI: This would be suitable for most types of knee pain including ACLR patients from 4weeks post-op and those with PFJ pain & patella tendinopathy. Exercise 1: Static Squats 5x30sec (30-60sec rest between reps) Exercise 2: Terminal Knee Extensions 3x15 (30-60sec rests between sets) If you're

Did you know that when compared to other commonly used exercises in hamstring rehabilitation, The Tantrum (AKA Fitball Flexions) has one of the highest levels of hamstring recruitment? Even more than the Nordic Hamstring exercise!! (Tsaklis et al, 2015). The only thing to consider is that the highest level of activity is when the muscle is SHORTENING, which is not particularly useful as most hamstring strains occur when the hamstring unit is LENGTHENING. THE SITTING TANTRUM

You may have heard of the Nordic Hamstring exercise, but have you heard of the Reverse Nordic exercise? Just like the Nordic Hamstring exercise for the hamstring muscle group, the Reverse Nordic has been shown to significantly increase the length, thickness and cross-sectional area of the Quadricep muscle group; in particular the Rectus Femoris muscle (Alonso-Fernandez et al, 2018). Although this exercise is primarily aimed at reducing the risk of quad strains and recurrenc

Dont forget to assess calf capacity when managing patients with lower limb musculoskeletal pain and injury - it's not always the glutes that "aren't switching on". Notice the wasting in this patient's RIGHT calf? This patient had equal single leg rise repetitions (20 each leg), yet 50% less single leg heel rise repetitions in his RIGHT calf (due to fatigue, not pain) compared to his LEFT calf. This was no doubt a contributing factor to his presentation of chronic RIGHT achi

How many single leg heel raises can you do? Herbert-Losier et al (2017) studied over 500 healthy active people and found the following norms for male & female age groups: 20-29yrs: Males 37 reps, Females 30 reps 30-39yrs: Males 32, Females 27 40-49yrs: Males 28, Females 24 50-59yrs: Males 23, Females 21 60-69yrs: Males 19, Females, 19 70-79yrs: Males 14, Females 16 80-89yrs: Males 10, Females 13 This information is a really useful guide for those going through any type of