Quick Stats

• Injury: ACL Tear

• Sport: Soccer

• Timeline: 9 Months

• Focus: Prehab → Return-to-Sport → Confidence & Explosive Power

• Outcome: Returned to competition with no reinjury for the remainder of her career

The Before

Lauren was in the middle of one of the strongest performances of her season. Every touch was dialed in, every cut felt sharp, she was helping push her team toward a conference finals appearance.

Then, late in the match, everything changed.

She planted, cut, heard a pop, and felt her knee shift. Swelling hit before she even left the field, and deep down, she already knew:

ACL tear. Season over. Future uncertain.

The hardest part wasn’t the injury, it was the questions that followed:

• Will I play the same again?

• Will college coaches still want me?

• Am I still the athlete I was before?

Those thoughts are more common — and more challenging — than most athletes realize.

The Work

When Lauren started at Petroski Physio, her recovery didn’t begin after surgery, it started immediately.

We began with prehab, focusing on:

• Restoring full knee extension

• Reducing swelling

• Strengthening the entire leg

• Building confidence and clarity around the process

Athletes who complete strong prehab recover strength faster and return to sport sooner, and Lauren proved that.

After reconstruction, the focus wasn’t just healing tissue, it was rebuilding the version of her who could compete at a high level.

ACL injury impacts far more than strength. It affects:

• Power output

• Rate of force development

• Reactive stabilization

• Landing and cutting mechanics

So her rehab wasn’t based on time, it was based on measurable capacity and performance milestones.

As she progressed, the work evolved from controlled patterns to game-like chaos.

Examples included:

• Force plate strength + power testing

• Reactive cutting and landing drills

• Fatigue-based change-of-direction progressions

• Unpredictable decision-based movement

The goal was simple:

Not just to move, but to compete at full speed with full confidence.

The Breakthrough

As strength and mechanics improved, her rehab began to look more like soccer and less like rehab.

Her confidence shifted, too, from cautious movement to intentional, aggressive footwork.

The questions changed from:

“Is my knee okay?” → “How fast can I attack space?”

The Result

Nine months later, she wasn’t just cleared, she was ready.

• Force plate asymmetries resolved

• Reactive power restored

• Landing and cutting mechanics held under fatigue

• Confidence fully returned

And when she stepped back onto the field, she didn’t just return, she excelled.

She finished the remainder of her playing career without reinjury.

For Athletes in the Same Chapter

An ACL tear doesn’t put you behind, it brings you to the beginning of a comeback that can make you better than before.

If your goal isn’t just recovery, but returning ready to compete, we’d love to help you get there.