The decision to initiate sport-specific training should
be based upon the following criteria: whether the patient
can perform basic movements that utilize the injured
muscle without pain; whether the patient has similar
strength levels between the injured muscle and its contralateral
counterpart; and whether the patient is able to
stretch the injured muscle to approximately the same
length as the contralateral muscle. This phase of rehabilitation
should be supervised and a gradual progression of
sport-specific activities should be employed.