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Why Physical Therapy Matters After ACL Injury

Physical therapy before and after ACL injury strongly influences pain, function, and return‑to‑sport rates. There is growing evidence that high‑quality, longer‑duration rehab and neuromuscular training reduce reinjury risk and improve long‑term outcomes. Pairing expert surgical care with evidence‑based physical therapy is one of the biggest determinants of whether they get back to the field and stay there.[1][2][3][4][5] Why Physical Therapy Matters After ACL Injury Early, structured physical therapy is now considered a core part of ACL management, whether the injury is treated surgically or non‑surgically. Research shows that recovery is not guaranteed with surgery alone; persistent strength, neuromuscular, and movement deficits can linger for years without targeted rehab.[2][6][7][8] Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction patients often show abnormal loading patterns and asymmetries in both legs, which are directly linked to higher risk of a second ACL injury.[3][7] High‑quality rehabilitation that addresses strength, movement mechanics, and neuromuscular control is essential to restore performance and protect the new graft or healing ligament.[5][3] Prehabilitation: Setting Up Surgery for Success Prehabilitation (structured PT before ACL reconstruction) focuses on regaining motion, strength, and neuromuscular control before surgery. Consequently, this prehabilitation meaningfully changes what happens after the operation. Systematic reviews report that prehab is safe and yields short‑, moderate‑, and long‑term benefits without increasing complication rates.[9][10][2] For example, a 2020 review found that prehab improves pre‑operative function and leads to better self‑reported knee function. This benefit lasts up to two years after ACL reconstruction, with trends toward faster and higher return‑to‑sport rates.[2] Additionally, recent work supports prehab programs that emphasize range of motion, quadriceps strength, and neuromuscular exercises. This prehab serves as a way to help patients meet or exceed accepted “pass” thresholds for symptoms and function before progressing.[10][9] Post‑Op PT: Speed, [...]

By |2025-12-29T12:09:29-05:00December 29th, 2025|Physical Therapy|0 Comments
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ACL Physical Therapy for Optimal Healing

An ACL rupture can be one of the most devastating any athlete experiences. Appropriate physical therapy is a cornerstone of successful recovery for athletes returning from ACL ruptures. The journey back to sport is complex, requiring not only the restoration of physical function but also the careful management of psychological barriers and risk factors. Evidence-based rehabilitation protocols have been shown to dramatically improve outcomes, reduce re-injury rates, and help athletes return to their pre-injury performance levels with greater confidence and safety. [1][2][3][4] The Critical Role of Physical Therapy in ACL Recovery Physical therapy following an ACL rupture—whether treated surgically or non-surgically—serves multiple essential functions. Early intervention focuses on reducing pain and swelling, restoring full range of motion, and preventing muscle atrophy. As rehabilitation progresses, the emphasis shifts to rebuilding strength, neuromuscular control, and dynamic stability. Therapists guide athletes through a structured progression that includes core strengthening, lower body conditioning, balance training, and sport-specific drills. This comprehensive approach is designed to restore not just the knee’s function, but the athlete’s entire movement system. Research consistently demonstrates that athletes who engage in structured physical therapy programs return to sport faster and with lower rates of re-injury compared to those who do not. For example, studies show that preoperative rehabilitation (prehab) can improve quadriceps strength, enhance neuromuscular function, and lead to better self-reported knee function and quicker return to sport timelines. Postoperatively, physical therapy protocols that include early weight-bearing, quadriceps strengthening, and progressive dynamic control exercises are associated with improved functional outcomes and reduced risk of osteoarthritis. Evidence-Based Rehabilitation Protocols Modern ACL rehabilitation is guided by both time-based and criterion-based milestones. The typical timeline spans 9–12 months, with athletes progressing through distinct phases: Early Phase (0–6 weeks): Focus [...]

By |2025-12-29T12:08:20-05:00November 24th, 2025|Physical Therapy|0 Comments
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Athletic Lab to offer Performance Physical Therapy

Athletic Lab is proud to announce the addition of performance physical therapy services. Services will begin November 17, 2025 by our new Performance Physical Therapist Brandon Guastafeste, DPT, CSCS. This expansion represents a strategic alignment of elite rehabilitation expertise with Athletic Lab's commitment to evidence-based, performance-driven training. A Perfect Partnership Brandon brings a credential set and clinical philosophy that mirrors Athletic Lab's foundation of scientific rigor and athletic excellence. As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, Functional Range Conditioning practitioner, and dry needling specialist, his qualifications bridge the critical gap between rehabilitation and performance training. Since 2016, Brandon has specialized in working with athletes across all competitive levels, with particular expertise in lower-extremity injury management and on-field return-to-play protocols. Brandon's clinical focus centers on ACL rehabilitation and return-to-sport therapy, addressing one of the most challenging aspects of athletic recovery. His experience includes extensive work with athletes in multiple sports, ensuring comprehensive understanding of sport-specific movement demands and performance requirements. Brandon is the founder of All Around Athlete, a physical therapy practice dedicated to bridging rehabilitation and sport. Brandon has built his career on the same principles that drive Athletic Lab's approach to training. Cash-Based Care Model Athletic Lab's performance physical therapy services will operate on a cash-based model, offering distinct advantages for athletes and active individuals. This approach enables extended one-on-one session times, fully individualized treatment plans without insurance restrictions, and complete transparency in pricing and care delivery. Athletes benefit from immediate access to care without referral delays, customized protocols that address root causes rather than symptoms, and accelerated recovery timelines through focused attention. Integrated Performance Solution Performance physical therapy completes Athletic Lab's comprehensive service offering. It creates a seamless continuum from [...]

By |2025-12-29T12:11:51-05:00November 15th, 2025|News, Physical Therapy|0 Comments
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The matches are over but we`d like to congratulate Patrick Kypson on competing at Wimbledon where he earned a spot in the main draw after breaking into the ATP Top 100 earlier this year and continuing his rise on the professional tour.

Patrick reached a major milestone, earning a Grand Slam main draw victory with an impressive four-set win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. 

Patrick advanced to the second round before facing world No. 6 Taylor Fritz on Court 2 at the All England Club. While Fritz earned the victory, Patrick battled throughout the match and showcased the level of play that has made him one of the country`s top rising professionals.

Athletic Lab has had the privilege of being a part of Patrick`s performance journey, and we`re incredibly proud to see his hard work and dedication rewarded on one of the biggest stages in tennis. Reaching Wimbledon is a testament to years of disciplined training, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to improvement.

Congratulations, Patrick, on an outstanding achievement!

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Open post by athleticlab with ID 18060967151501744
The matches are over but we'd like to congratulate Patrick Kypson on competing at Wimbledon where he earned a spot in the main draw after breaking into the ATP Top 100 earlier this year and continuing his rise on the professional tour. Patrick reached a major milestone, earning a Grand Slam main draw victory with an impressive four-set win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.  Patrick advanced to the second round before facing world No. 6 Taylor Fritz on Court 2 at the All England Club. While Fritz earned the victory, Patrick battled throughout the match and showcased the level of play that has made him one of the country's top rising professionals. Athletic Lab has had the privilege of being a part of Patrick's performance journey, and we're incredibly proud to see his hard work and dedication rewarded on one of the biggest stages in tennis. Reaching Wimbledon is a testament to years of disciplined training, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to improvement. Congratulations, Patrick, on an outstanding achievement!

Congratulations to @tim_usaw on an outstanding performance at the @usa_weightlifting Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado earlier this month, where he earned a gold medal in one of the nation’s most competitive junior divisions. Tim is a long time member of the @athleticlab_weightlifting Team coached by USA Weightlifting National Coach @j.t.nobbe_

Weightlifting National Championships Week brings together the country’s top youth, junior, U25, and senior lifters, making every medal hard-earned. Tim rose to the challenge with a personal record in the clean & jerk to secure the top spot on the podium.

Congratulations, Tim on becoming a USA Weightlifting Junior National Champion! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishment and look forward to seeing what comes next as you continue to represent Athletic Lab on the national stage.

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Open post by athleticlab with ID 17933162355339138
Congratulations to @tim_usaw on an outstanding performance at the @usa_weightlifting Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado earlier this month, where he earned a gold medal in one of the nation’s most competitive junior divisions. Tim is a long time member of the @athleticlab_weightlifting Team coached by USA Weightlifting National Coach @j.t.nobbe_ Weightlifting National Championships Week brings together the country’s top youth, junior, U25, and senior lifters, making every medal hard-earned. Tim rose to the challenge with a personal record in the clean & jerk to secure the top spot on the podium. Congratulations, Tim on becoming a USA Weightlifting Junior National Champion! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishment and look forward to seeing what comes next as you continue to represent Athletic Lab on the national stage.

Get your stretch on! Our MoMo (Movement & Mobility) classes are offered Thursdays at 5pm. In our MoMo classes, we work on asymmetries, imbalances, and restrictions that may be limiting performance or increasing the likelihood for injuries. Paying attention to these seemingly little things allows you to keep your goals big.

#athleticlab #iloveal #cary #fitness #mobility

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Open post by athleticlab with ID 18073644527314654
Get your stretch on! Our MoMo (Movement & Mobility) classes are offered Thursdays at 5pm. In our MoMo classes, we work on asymmetries, imbalances, and restrictions that may be limiting performance or increasing the likelihood for injuries. Paying attention to these seemingly little things allows you to keep your goals big. #athleticlab #iloveal #cary #fitness #mobility

Happy Mother’s Day to all our strong moms. ⠀
⠀
#mothersday #strongasamutha #moms #gymlife #crossfit strongmoms fitmoms fitness strength

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Open post by athleticlab with ID 17903971887428527
Happy Mother’s Day to all our strong moms. ⠀ ⠀ #mothersday #strongasamutha #moms #gymlife #crossfit strongmoms fitmoms fitness strength

Most coaches stop sets based on how athletes look, rather than how they are actually moving. VBT allows you to set a simple cutoff by monitoring bar speed. A bar speed drop of more than 20% from the first rep is an indicator that no matter how the athlete looks or what percentage of 1RM they are supposed to be moving, that they are fatigued beyond the necessary output they need to reach the target stimulus. We shut down the set so that we don’t keep the athlete accumulating a bunch of junk reps.

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #powertraining #strengthandconditioning

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Most coaches stop sets based on how athletes look, rather than how they are actually moving. VBT allows you to set a simple cutoff by monitoring bar speed. A bar speed drop of more than 20% from the first rep is an indicator that no matter how the athlete looks or what percentage of 1RM they are supposed to be moving, that they are fatigued beyond the necessary output they need to reach the target stimulus. We shut down the set so that we don’t keep the athlete accumulating a bunch of junk reps. #BeTheStandard #velocitybasedtraining #vbt #powertraining #strengthandconditioning

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #3: Objective load & zone prescription. Research over the years has mapped clear velocity zones for different strength qualities. Accelerative strength, strength speed, speed strength, and starting strength all live in different velocity zones. While percentage based training can target these qualities by prescribing an “ideal” load that can allow for different velocities, verifying the quality of the reps becomes a coaches visual interpretation and is subjective. Using VBT gives a clear picture of the athletes bar speed and verifies the quality of the bar speed and whether or not the target is hit on every rep. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

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Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18088613996617480
Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #3: Objective load & zone prescription. Research over the years has mapped clear velocity zones for different strength qualities. Accelerative strength, strength speed, speed strength, and starting strength all live in different velocity zones. While percentage based training can target these qualities by prescribing an “ideal” load that can allow for different velocities, verifying the quality of the reps becomes a coaches visual interpretation and is subjective. Using VBT gives a clear picture of the athletes bar speed and verifies the quality of the bar speed and whether or not the target is hit on every rep. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd #BeTheStandard #velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

We know there are weight room activities - squats, cleans, plyos, etc that contribute to speed development but we also know that these activities don’t come close enough to the intensity of forces and contraction speeds seen during a max velocity sprint. Therefore the best way to become faster is…..to sprint.

To reach a proper stimulus, sprinting must be done at 95%+ of the athletes max velocity. Do not confuse this with EFFORT. An athlete can be at an RPE of 10 yet not sprinting at 95%+ of their max velocity. So even if an athlete is running fast, even running as fast as they can, it doesn’t mean they are sprinting.

🔹 More in-depth speed training guidelines are found in our CHPC L1 online course #linkinbio

#BeTheStandard

#strengthcoach #sportsperformance #trainingsession personaltrainer fitnesscoach physicalpreparation coachingeducation alca highperformance ltad athleticdevelopment weightroom weightliftingcoach strengthandconditioning exercisescience kinesiology speedtraining sprinttraining

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Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18003701174758349
We know there are weight room activities - squats, cleans, plyos, etc that contribute to speed development but we also know that these activities don’t come close enough to the intensity of forces and contraction speeds seen during a max velocity sprint. Therefore the best way to become faster is…..to sprint. To reach a proper stimulus, sprinting must be done at 95%+ of the athletes max velocity. Do not confuse this with EFFORT. An athlete can be at an RPE of 10 yet not sprinting at 95%+ of their max velocity. So even if an athlete is running fast, even running as fast as they can, it doesn’t mean they are sprinting. 🔹 More in-depth speed training guidelines are found in our CHPC L1 online course #linkinbio #BeTheStandard #strengthcoach #sportsperformance #trainingsession personaltrainer fitnesscoach physicalpreparation coachingeducation alca highperformance ltad athleticdevelopment weightroom weightliftingcoach strengthandconditioning exercisescience kinesiology speedtraining sprinttraining

CONTACT INFO

Athletic Lab
110 Competition Center Drive
Suite 150
Phone: 919.617.1472
Email: info@athleticlab.com
Web: athleticlab.com

athleticlabacademy

455 9,436

High performance coaching education for aspiring sport science experts & master practitioners.
#BeTheStandard
FREE SAMPLE of our CHPC L1 Course ⬇️

The matches are over but we`d like to congratulate Patrick Kypson on competing at Wimbledon where he earned a spot in the main draw after breaking into the ATP Top 100 earlier this year and continuing his rise on the professional tour.

Patrick reached a major milestone, earning a Grand Slam main draw victory with an impressive four-set win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. 

Patrick advanced to the second round before facing world No. 6 Taylor Fritz on Court 2 at the All England Club. While Fritz earned the victory, Patrick battled throughout the match and showcased the level of play that has made him one of the country`s top rising professionals.

Athletic Lab has had the privilege of being a part of Patrick`s performance journey, and we`re incredibly proud to see his hard work and dedication rewarded on one of the biggest stages in tennis. Reaching Wimbledon is a testament to years of disciplined training, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to improvement.

Congratulations, Patrick, on an outstanding achievement!

31 0
Open post by athleticlab with ID 18060967151501744
The matches are over but we'd like to congratulate Patrick Kypson on competing at Wimbledon where he earned a spot in the main draw after breaking into the ATP Top 100 earlier this year and continuing his rise on the professional tour. Patrick reached a major milestone, earning a Grand Slam main draw victory with an impressive four-set win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.  Patrick advanced to the second round before facing world No. 6 Taylor Fritz on Court 2 at the All England Club. While Fritz earned the victory, Patrick battled throughout the match and showcased the level of play that has made him one of the country's top rising professionals. Athletic Lab has had the privilege of being a part of Patrick's performance journey, and we're incredibly proud to see his hard work and dedication rewarded on one of the biggest stages in tennis. Reaching Wimbledon is a testament to years of disciplined training, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to improvement. Congratulations, Patrick, on an outstanding achievement!

Congratulations to @tim_usaw on an outstanding performance at the @usa_weightlifting Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado earlier this month, where he earned a gold medal in one of the nation’s most competitive junior divisions. Tim is a long time member of the @athleticlab_weightlifting Team coached by USA Weightlifting National Coach @j.t.nobbe_

Weightlifting National Championships Week brings together the country’s top youth, junior, U25, and senior lifters, making every medal hard-earned. Tim rose to the challenge with a personal record in the clean & jerk to secure the top spot on the podium.

Congratulations, Tim on becoming a USA Weightlifting Junior National Champion! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishment and look forward to seeing what comes next as you continue to represent Athletic Lab on the national stage.

45 3
Open post by athleticlab with ID 17933162355339138
Congratulations to @tim_usaw on an outstanding performance at the @usa_weightlifting Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado earlier this month, where he earned a gold medal in one of the nation’s most competitive junior divisions. Tim is a long time member of the @athleticlab_weightlifting Team coached by USA Weightlifting National Coach @j.t.nobbe_ Weightlifting National Championships Week brings together the country’s top youth, junior, U25, and senior lifters, making every medal hard-earned. Tim rose to the challenge with a personal record in the clean & jerk to secure the top spot on the podium. Congratulations, Tim on becoming a USA Weightlifting Junior National Champion! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishment and look forward to seeing what comes next as you continue to represent Athletic Lab on the national stage.

Get your stretch on! Our MoMo (Movement & Mobility) classes are offered Thursdays at 5pm. In our MoMo classes, we work on asymmetries, imbalances, and restrictions that may be limiting performance or increasing the likelihood for injuries. Paying attention to these seemingly little things allows you to keep your goals big.

#athleticlab #iloveal #cary #fitness #mobility

57 1
Open post by athleticlab with ID 18073644527314654
Get your stretch on! Our MoMo (Movement & Mobility) classes are offered Thursdays at 5pm. In our MoMo classes, we work on asymmetries, imbalances, and restrictions that may be limiting performance or increasing the likelihood for injuries. Paying attention to these seemingly little things allows you to keep your goals big. #athleticlab #iloveal #cary #fitness #mobility

Happy Mother’s Day to all our strong moms. ⠀
⠀
#mothersday #strongasamutha #moms #gymlife #crossfit strongmoms fitmoms fitness strength

13 0
Open post by athleticlab with ID 17903971887428527
Happy Mother’s Day to all our strong moms. ⠀ ⠀ #mothersday #strongasamutha #moms #gymlife #crossfit strongmoms fitmoms fitness strength

CONTACT INFO

Athletic Lab
110 Competition Center Drive
Suite 150
Phone: 919.617.1472
Email: info@athleticlab.com
Web: athleticlab.com

Copyright 2026 Athletic Lab | All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2026 Athletic Lab | All Rights Reserved

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