Return-to-sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in team sport athletes. Part II: Progressive framework

Abstract

In the second part of this evidence- and experience-based guide, we present a progressive framework for return-to-sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in team sport athletes. This framework guides programs that return athletes to competition at maximum performance while minimizing risk of reinjury. We have built onto a framework typically used in team sports that proposes progress move from general to specific. The progression is accomplished through the use of motor learning principles and attention to hypercomplexity, which characterizes situation sports. The framework focuses on preparing players to withstand repeated high-intensity actions, combining jumps, accelerations, decelerations and changes of direction with dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting and/or reacting to their teammates and opponents while minimizing risk of reinjury.