- Strength training for leg injuries is perfect for building tissue tolerance and movement patterns as it’s highly configurable for specific goals
- Strength training should be carefully controlled and progressed in keeping with tissue healing and injury recovery
- Exercises target potential underlying causes, maintenance of general leg strength and progressive loading of the injured tissue
Phase 1
- Gentle loading on the injured structure
- No more than mild discomfort at the injury site
- No residual soreness after exercises
- In stable positions (on two feet, holding on to support, etc)
- Eg. Isometric (static) holds while leaning against a wall
- Moderate loading on uninjured areas
- Focus on maintaining strength in areas that can support injured area
- Include a mix of strength, stability and movement pattern exercises
- Complex movement patterns are not required
- Eg. Double and single leg deadlift for an ankle sprain (no ankle movement required, double leg targets strength, single leg targets stability)
- Cardio training without stressing the injured area
- If possible, add some simple cardio in but not at the risk of irritating the healing tissue
- Cardio selection does not need to be related to your sporting goals
- Use an interval or variable intensity approach for best effect
- Eg. Bike for 10min including 5min of 20sec hard:10sec easy repeats
Phase 2
- Increase loading on injured structure
- If you’ve torn muscle, tendon or ligament fibres, focus on increasing force rather than increasing length
- Add some movement patterns but only if you can complete the movement with good technique
- Mild discomfort is OK if it’s not sharp, increasing or lingering
- Eg. Single leg box squats for FAI
- Add complex movement patterns for uninjured areas
- Progress towards movement patterns required for your chosen sport
- Upgrade weight, speed or complexity of an exercise but only one parameter at a time
- Maintain a few basic strength exercises as adding instability and speed will diminish strength gains
- Eg. Reverse lunges for PFPS
- Upgrade cardio
- Increase session intensity and overall weekly volume rather than just increasing each session’s duration
- Add variety to cardio if possible, such as bike and rower, but not at the expense of overloading the injured tissue
- If the target sport includes running, consider adding a small amount of running to begin to refresh movement patterns (see our guide on return to running)
Phase 3
- Load the injured tissue during complex movements
- Select movement patterns that mimic sporting demands
- Control the loading via speed, range and complexity of the movement
- There should be no discomfort or soreness at the injury site, however mild tightness may be experienced
- Eg. Walking lunge for calf tears
- Add a combination of heavy loading, complex and high speed movements
- Select sport-specific movement patterns
- Deliberately involve the injured area but only with correct technique (no compensations)
- Add load or speed based on the requirements of the sport
- Eg. Box jumps for return to basketball
- Sport-specific cardio
- Focus on correct technique separately, ie. not during high intensity sessions
- Be wary of fatigue as it will adversely affect technique
- Short sessions of high intensity with variable workload are best for regaining fitness
- Eg. Running intervals of 100m with longer rest breaks
Sport-specific phase
- This phase focuses on your successful return to full participation
- It’s highly specific to your sport, your injury and duration of your recovery so there are no generic recommendations
- Take more time than you feel necessary to return to full loading as we’re typically optimistic with self assessment
- Get feedback from a trusted source (eg. experienced coach) on your technique and performance to spot any missing links prior to full training loads
