1. Warm Up Dynamically (before every practice & game)
Skip static stretches and use movement-based warm-ups like:
High knees
Butt kicks
Side shuffles
Arm swings
Walking lunges
2. Strengthen Key Muscles
A strong body supports healthy knees!
Focus on:
Glutes (bridges, clamshells)
Hamstrings (deadlifts, curls)
Core (planks, bird-dogs)
Quads (squats, lunges)
3. Practice Safe Landing & Cutting
Land with knees bent and aligned over toes
Don’t let knees cave inward
Keep movements controlled and balanced
When cutting or pivoting, avoid twisting the knee
4. Add Neuromuscular Training
This means training your body to move smart. Try:
Agility ladder drills
Balance exercises (like single-leg stands)
Reaction drills to simulate game speed
Resistance bands are helpful for ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries because they assist in rehabilitation and strengthening in a controlled, low-impact way. Here's how they help:
✅ 1. Controlled Strengthening
After an ACL injury (or surgery), you need to rebuild strength in the muscles around the knee, especially:
Quadriceps
Hamstrings
Glutes
Calves
Bands allow you to apply graduated resistance, meaning you can slowly increase difficulty without overloading the joint.
✅ 2. Improved Joint Stability
Strong muscles stabilize the knee and help reduce the load on the healing ACL. Bands can target:
Hip abductors/adductors – which help with knee alignment
Core stability – essential for balance and injury prevention
✅ 3. Safe Range of Motion (ROM) Work
Bands are excellent for helping regain range of motion without risking re-injury. For example:
Leg extensions
Hamstring curls
Terminal knee extensions (TKEs)
These exercises gently stretch and strengthen tissues.
✅ 4. Neuromuscular Re-education
After an ACL injury, your brain needs to “relearn” how to properly use your knee. Band exercises can:
Improve proprioception (your sense of joint position)
Retrain muscle firing patterns
Build better movement mechanics (e.g., landing, pivoting)
✅ 5. Progressive Loading Without Impact
Bands help you gradually load the knee without jumping, running, or cutting motions (which are risky early on). You can:
Start with light resistance
Increase tension or reps as you progress
Avoid joint compression or pounding