Popular Exercises Carried Out During An ACL Physical Therapy

Your ACL or anterior cruciate ligament is amongst the most essential ligaments found in your knee because it helps in the stability and also movement of the joint. This ligament connects the tibia bone to the shin bone. When your ACL is torn or injured, you should undergo ACL physical therapy even if you do not need to have any surgery. This rehabilitation involves both weight bearing and non-weight bearing exercises and also closed and open kinetic chain exercises. If these exercises are done right, you will see great improvement on you knee with regards to its stability, movement and strength. Below is the list of typical exercises applied in such therapy. However, it is still best to speak to your therapist for the exercises suitable for you.Enhance StabilityThe exercises to enhance your knee’s stability require you to be in weight bearing or standing position. Since your knee is injured, you may use a table or chair to hold on to while executing the exercises. These include step downs and single leg balance. For step downs, you have to stand on a step and after that bend the injured knee gradually while positioning your other leg down the step. For the single leg balance, you have to stand on one leg for about sixty seconds. Use your injured leg when doing this exercise. This is usually done twice or thrice a week. StrengthExercises which are non-weight bearing and open kinetic are performed to strengthen the knee. You must do straight leg raises which entail lifting your leg while sitting down and holding it for five to ten seconds. You should perform this with your legs straight. One other exercise is called bridges. In this exercise, you will need to lie down with your knees bent and your feet should be on the floor lifting your butt for ten seconds. Throughout your ACL physical therapy, your exercises will little by little become intense as your knee becomes stronger. Range of motionIf you have an ACL injury, the injured knee becomes swollen which may bring about stiffness and also restricted movement. Within the initial phases of the therapy, your physical therapist will massage it and will make an effort to move your knee to boost its flexibility. Once the movement of your knee improves, you will be made to perform some heel slides and props exercises. Your heel is going to be placed on a rolled up pillow or towel. Then you'll slide your heel whilst bending your knee. This exercise will need tobe performed almost every day.These are some exercises which will help you recuperate when you have an ACL injury. Therefore, it is important to undergo ACL physical therapy in order to get back the normal functioning of your knee.