Coaches’ Guide to ACL Rehab and Return to Play Podcast

Late stage ACL rehab and the return-to-play process from ACL rehab takes a team effort. The player and medical staff have been working together for 8-9 months, and the athlete is ready to start to be reintegrated into practice and game activities.  At that point, the coach starts to play a key role in helping the athlete reintegrate into the team environment and prepare to return to game action. 

However, coaches aren’t medical professionals, especially at the high school level. Coaches have many other responsibilities, and often, other full time jobs.  So how would you, as their coach, know what to do with a player that is “cleared” to return to play following an ACL injury?

This podcast will help by discussing:

• What the stages of return-to-play are
• Why an athlete telling you they have been “cleared” is insufficient information (and what follow up questions you should ask)
• How you can help an athlete during this late stage of their ACL rehabilitation
• Why an athlete needs a gradual reintegration into practice and games
• Concepts surrounding the medical and performance team
• Resources for coaches

This is a great podcast for any coach that has an athlete coming back from an ACL injury (or another major injury).  This is also a great listen if you are an athlete (or parent of an athlete) coming back from ACL surgery so that you can optimize your own rehab experience by knowing what to expect, how hard to be pushed, and when to scale it back.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or right on this page.

Are you an athlete that has injured their ACL? Are you looking for guidance and support with your recovery? Learn more about our philosophy with ACL rehabilitation.  We help athletes around the Midwest at all phases of their ACL rehab journey. We help athletes not just returning-to-play, but returning to perform at a high level.