Post-Surgical Rehabilitation

ACL reconstruction is one of the most common orthopedic surgeries — and one where the quality of rehabilitation directly determines the outcome. A successful surgery can still result in a poor recovery without a structured, progressive rehab program behind it.

Post-surgical ACL rehabilitation typically follows a phased approach over nine to twelve months. Early phases focus on reducing swelling, restoring range of motion, and protecting the graft. Later phases shift to strength training, neuromuscular control, and ultimately sport-specific movement and return-to-play testing.

MCL repairs and reconstructions follow a similar staged approach, with emphasis on restoring medial stability and the mechanics of cutting, pivoting, and lateral movement.

We follow your surgeon’s protocol closely and coordinate your progression at every phase of recovery.

Conservative (Non-Surgical) Treatment

Not every ACL or MCL tear requires surgery. Many MCL injuries — and some ACL tears, depending on the patient and their goals — can heal and recover effectively with a structured conservative rehabilitation program.

Conservative management focuses on reducing initial pain and swelling, protecting the healing ligament, and then systematically rebuilding the strength and neuromuscular control needed to stabilize the knee without surgical reconstruction.

We have extensive experience guiding patients through non-surgical ACL and MCL recovery — including athletes who chose to manage conservatively and returned to sport, and individuals who simply needed to return to pain-free daily activities and work.

The decision between surgery and conservative management is always made between you and your physician. Our role is to support whichever path you choose with the best possible rehabilitation.

What Treatment Includes

Whether you are recovering from surgery or treating conservatively, rehabilitation will progress through similar goals — the timeline and approach differ, but the destination is the same.

Treatment may include:

• Swelling and pain management
• Restoring full knee range of motion
• Quadriceps, hamstring, and hip strengthening
• Balance and neuromuscular control training
• Gait and movement pattern correction
• Sport-specific and functional movement training
• Return-to-sport or return-to-activity progression

For surgical patients, we follow a criteria-based return-to-sport protocol — meaning you advance based on what your body can do, not just how many weeks have passed since surgery.

When to Start Physical Therapy

For post-surgical patients, physical therapy typically begins within the first one to two weeks after ACL or MCL surgery — sometimes even in the first few days depending on your surgeon’s protocol. Starting early helps prevent stiffness, control swelling, and begin the process of rebuilding quadriceps activation.

For conservative patients, early physical therapy is equally important — the sooner you begin structured rehabilitation, the less muscle loss and stiffness you will experience, and the better your long-term outcome is likely to be.

If you are preparing for ACL surgery, starting physical therapy before the procedure (“prehab”) has been shown to improve post-surgical outcomes — stronger quads going into surgery means a better starting point coming out of it.

Our Goal

Our goal is to help you rebuild a knee that is strong, stable, and confident — one that you can trust in sport, at work, and in daily life without fear of re-injury.

As your physical therapist in West Los Angeles, we provide one-on-one care at every session. We have treated ACL and MCL injuries across all levels — from recreational athletes returning to weekend sports to competitive athletes working toward a full return to their sport at the highest level.

Whether surgery or conservative management is the path you have chosen, we are here to support your recovery every step of the way.