Without getting to wordy or sciencey, I want to dive into the Cross Education Phenomena which I believe is a huge gap we are currently missing in our ACL rehab.
What is it?
Cross education is the phenomena that we can train one side of our body and the other side of the body will get the benefits despite not getting any of the exercise. Essentially you could only train your R leg and get some of the benefits on your L leg.
Furthermore, research has shown that to have the GREATEST effect on the other side, one must perform movements utilizing a fast eccentric (lowering portion of the lift). This resulted in the greatest improvements in strength on the opposite side.
How do we do it?
We want to make sure we are safe so I like to use hand assistance or highly stable positions for a lot of the movements. I like to perform purely single leg strength movements as well as plyometrics.
Strength Example:
Plyometric Example:
Just to clarify this would be performed on the non-surgical leg. Give these a try with supervision/permission from your PT or doctor!
BIG CAT OUTđŚ