An ACL injury is not fun. It can be quite painful like most ligament tears. What’s worse is that you lose motion, strength, and stability in your injured knee. This means you won’t be able to do strenuous activities on it such as running or most other sports.

At the same time, since it affects your stability and motion, day to day life can be hindered as well. You might find climbing stairs more difficult or even just walking can cause you pain or discomfort.

You can opt to have it surgically treated or wait for your knee to repair itself. Either way though, it is a good idea to do ACL rehab exercises.

What are ACL Rehab Exercises?

ACL rehab basically means helping it get better. This includes strengthening the ligament and muscles around the ACL to help with its recovery. You can do ACL exercises in order to help with the overall rehab process.

Below are some good exercises to assist with your ACL recovery. Remember to do them lightly and only within pain-free range or else you run the risk of doing more harm than good. These exercises are relatively simple and easy to perform.

Heel Raises

This exercise aims to strengthen your calf muscles which help with your ACL by providing more support. It’s good to do this with proper support such as a back of a chair, countertop or near a wall so you don’t fall over.

To do this:

1. Stand straight and keep your feet apart. Place your hands lightly on your support in front of you.
2. Using your calf, slowly raise your heels off the ground. Keep your knees straight. Once fully extended, hold the raised position for about 5 seconds.
3. Slowly lower your heels back down to the floor.
4. Do this about 8 to 12 times each day.

Standing Knee Bends

Doing shallow knee bends from a standing position helps to develop the muscles at the top of your thigh. Doing so again creates good support for your knee which is why it’s among the more common ACL rehab exercises.

Remember that you should only down to a point where there is no pain. Also, if there’s any clicking sound, locking, or feel like your knee is giving way, stop and don’t do this for now.

To do this:

1. Stand in front of support similar to the last exercise such as a chair or countertop.
2. Rest your hands on the support lightly with your feet slightly spread apart.
3. Slowly bend your knees to squat down as if you are going to sit. Be careful not to have your knees go in front of your toes.
4. Keep your heels on the floor and lower yourself by about 15cm.
5. Slowly go back to your standing position.
6. Repeat this 8 to 12 times each day.

Quad Exercises

Continue working on your upper thighs with quad exercises. The idea is to hold your muscles tight to “set” them.

To do this:

1. Sit down on the floor and keep the injured leg straight in front of you. You can bend your other leg to support your body.
2. Press the back of your injured knee onto the floor. This action tightens the muscles at the top of your thigh.
3. Hold this for about 6 seconds. Release and rest a bit.
4. Repeat this 8 to 12 times per day.

If you feel pain or discomfort when doing this, you can roll a small towel and place it under your knee to make it easier.

Heel Slides

This is another very simple motion but is among the best ACL rehab exercises since it can help you regain your range of motion.

To do this:

1. Lie flat down on your back. Use an exercise mat if laying on the floor to be comfortable. You can also lay down on a bed.
2. Keep your body and legs straight. Arms splayed on your sides.
3. Start by slowly sliding the heel of your injured leg towards your buttocks. Keep the heel on the ground in doing this. The motion would bend your knee up.
4. Stop once you feel a little pressure on your knee. Hold it for about 6 seconds.
5. Slowly go back to starting position.
6. Do this 2 to 4 times a day.

Heel Dug Bridge

This is among the more difficult ACL rehab exercises but it develops a lot of your lower body muscles to support your knee.

To do this:

1. Lay down flat on your back first. Now bend both your knees so that your feet are flat on the ground.
2. Bend your ankles a bit so that only your heels are touching the ground.
3. Tighten your core and push down on your heels. Squeeze your buttons as you do so.
4. Your knees, hips, and shoulders should now be in a straight diagonal line. Keep this position for about 5 to 6 seconds and slowly lower back to rest position.
5. Repeat this about 8 times each day.

Like with any other exercise, stop doing this if you feel pain in your injured knee.

While an injury sucks, it doesn’t mean you’ll be like that forever. With these ACL rehab exercises, you can get back to normal or even better than before.