Return to sport readiness exercises

There is usually a gap between the point where an injury stops hurting and the point where the body can genuinely cope with sport. Pain settles early; strength, power, balance and the confidence to trust a limb all lag behind it by weeks or months. Returning during that gap is when re-injuries happen, and this programme is the bridge across it.

The reason for the gap is simple: pain is a poor measure of capacity. After a lower-limb injury the injured side is commonly still ten to thirty per cent weaker than the other one at the point where everyday walking, jogging and gym work feel completely normal. Sport does not ask for everyday loads. It asks for sudden ones, on one leg, while you are tired and thinking about something else.

This programme is for the final phase of rehabilitation for any lower-limb injury, once pain has settled and basic strength has returned. It layers in the qualities sport actually demands - single-leg strength and power, balance and control on unstable ground, repeated hopping and landing, and change of direction - and then tests each of them against the healthy side.

The aim is to finish able to demonstrate, rather than hope, that you are ready: symmetrical strength, symmetrical hop performance, controlled landing and cutting, and a limb you trust without thinking about it. Most people need six to twelve weeks in this phase, and clearing the markers matters more than the number of weeks it takes to clear them.

Who this programme is for

People finishing rehabilitation for a lower-limb injury who want an objective, staged path back to sport. It assumes pain has settled and you can already do basic double-leg strength work without a flare. It is not a substitute for early-stage rehab of a specific injury.