Agility Progression Post-Injury: Physical Therapy Guide

By dpope2020

March 15, 2025

ACL, acl recovery, acl rehab, acl surgery, agility, agility progression, Agility Progression Post-Injury, dan pope, fitness pain free, knee surgery, physical therapist, physical therapy, physiotherapy, PT, rehab, Return to Sport, return to sport testing, rts, sports rehab

Agility Progression Post-Injury: Physical Therapy Guide

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In today's video we go over Agility Progression Post-Injury: Physical Therapy Guide

Struggling to safely advance your post-op patients into agility drills? Are you concerned about re-injury rates during return to sport? In this video, we break down a clear, step-by-step approach to introducing and progressing agility exercises after major injury or surgery, like ACL reconstruction.

We'll cover everything from ensuring a 'quiet knee' and achieving proper symmetry, to practical drills like lateral lunges, sled drags, ladder drills, and advanced shuffling techniques.

You'll learn:

✅ How to assess readiness for agility progression.

✅ Key strengthening exercises in the frontal plane.

✅ Progressive plyometric and agility drills to build confidence and reduce re-injury risk.

✅ Practical tips for adding neurocognitive demands.

✅ How to tailor drills to specific sports and demands.

Let's get your patients moving confidently and safely.

TIMELINE

  • 0:00 - Intro
  • 0:23 - Why Care About Agility?
  • 1:01 - Goals Before Starting
  • 1:32 - Symmetry Goals
  • 1:54 - Frontal Plane Strength
  • 2:32 - Sled Work
  • 3:03 - Pogo Jumps
  • 3:21 - Dynamic Warm-up
  • 4:06 - Agility Ladders
  • 6:10 - Frequency Drills
  • 7:47 - Low Box Drills
  • 9:37 - Shuffling
  • 11:22 - Forward Run to Backpedal
  • 13:23 - Lateral Run
  • 15:57 - Neurocognitive Demand
  • 17:07 - Sport Specificity

Can't stop changing directions...

- Dan Pope DPT,OCS,CSCS

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Thank you!

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS

References: 

  1. O'Dowd DP, Stanley J, Rosenfeldt MP, Walsh S, Twaddle B, De Ruiter L, Crua E, Monk AP, Walsh S. Reduction in re-rupture rates following implementation of return-to-sport testing after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in 313 patients with a mean follow-up of 50 months. J ISAKOS. 2024 Jun;9(3):264-271. doi: 10.1016/j.jisako.2024.01.005. Epub 2024 Jan 11. PMID: 38218452.