Stress to collagen fibers results in fiber orientation along
these specific lines of stress. Specifically, rehabilitation during
days 1 through 5 should focus on protection of the injured
tissue, then supervised and protected stress may be applied
from days 6 to 42. The goal of athletic rehabilitation is to return the athlete to participation as quickly as possible, while
allowing the injured tissue to heal without compromising it by
further injury.
The following goals are important for any rehabilitation program:
decreased swelling, pain, and initial inflammatory response
and protection of the joint so that a secondary inflammatory
response does not develop from overly aggressive
rehabilitation. Similarly, ROM, muscular strength, power, and
endurance must be returned to preinjury levels so that full,
asymptomatic functional activities may be performed to the
preinjury level and beyond.