Knee Rehab Template Questions

  1. I noticed that the knee rehab templates little-to-no hamstring-specific work in the rehab exercise selections. Could hamstring isolation variations, or even calf work, be reasonably programmed into these slots to accomplish the same goal, if the athlete is confronting posterior knee pain (e.g., distal hamstring tendinopathy?)
  2. Throughout most of the template, upper body work is kept to a relative minimum, including very little arm and upper back work. Is this intentional, or can it be added in if the athlete has the time and motivation?
  3. With regards to exercise selection… in general, should we try to lean more towards isolating/targeting the specific problem area, or choose variations that most closely approximate our typical program, even if they don’t overly bias the painful area? For example, performing less quad/squatting work than usual and instead increasing posterior chain work if the concern is a hamstring problem, or sticking to my “usual program” but with the load and tempo changes?

Thanks as always.

  1. Sure, that could be done. The templates provide a general framework that can be modified as-needed for individual circumstances.

  2. Additional training for other areas can certainly be added. The templates focus on the affected area, with a bit of training for the other areas in case someone is not habitually training, but can certainly be supplemented.

  3. There’s room for both. The specific combination of isolation vs. compound movements will vary depending on the person’s symptoms and phase of rehab. Early on if a person is extremely sensitive, we might bias further away from compounds, but once things start calming down and are on a positive trajectory we will start to bring those other movements back in.