Joint Stability Exercises for Injury Rehab

Joint Stability is an Essential Part of Injury Rehab Programs.  After an injury it is essential for joints to return to proper alignment. A good rehab program will include exercises that target joint stability. This is most important following a lower extremity injury.
 
Joint Stability for Lower Body Injuries:
 
The first step for achieving joint stability after a lower body injury is to assess the joints for misalignment or structural defects caused by the injury. Your physician or therapist will check the joint alignment and test for weakness or deficits in soft-tissues (tendons, ligaments, and cartilage). Correcting these deficits may require taping, bracing or possibly surgery. Once the joints are returned to proper alignment, joint stability is addressed. Specific exercises are prescribed to help restore function. These exercises target balance, proprioception, range of motion, flexibility, strength and endurance. In order to make a full recovery from an injury an athlete must participate fully in their rehab program.
Neuromuscular Training and Proprioception
 
Neuromuscular training and proprioception is key to joint stability. Neuromuscular control is an unconscious response to joint motions that occurs without awareness. It is how a runner adjusts to uneven pavement or shifts his weight to stay balanced on inclines. Proprioceptive information includes an ability to detect joint position, movement, direction, amplitude and speed of motion. In theory, a joint that possesses a high level of neuromuscular control and a highly sensitive proprioceptive feedback system can respond appropriately to variations in forces placed upon it during activity and decrease risk of injury. Therefore, the goal of proprioceptive exercises are to train joint proprioceptors to adapt to stimuli received either during or prior to initiation of a deleterious movement.
Skills Training
 
After an injury an athlete may need to perform specific exercises to regain specific sports skills and relearn movement patterns that were once automatic. Through skills training an athlete can improve his ability to make adjustments quickly and decrease the potential for another injury.
Research indicates that patients who participate in neuromuscular retraining after an ankle sprain have better muscular activation and improved muscle reaction to changes in terrain than those who do not perform such exercises. Trainers have been using neuromuscular exercises to prevent and rehab ACL injuries.
 
Sample Lower Body Rehab Exercises:
 
The following exercises can be used to rehab the lower extremity an injury. Add the exercises slowly over several weeks as tolerated. These exercises should be combined with an appropriate and gradual range of motion and strengthening program. You should always work with your own physical therapist to design the best program for your specific injury and your limitations.
 
One-leg Balance - Try to stand on one leg for 10-30 seconds
 
One-leg Balance with Eyes Closed.
 
Balance Board Ball Toss - While balancing on a wobble board, balance board, or Bosu Ball catch and toss a small (5 pound) medicine ball with a partner.
 
Balance Board with Half-squats - While balancing on a wobble board, perform 10 slow, controlled half-squats.
 
Step up onto Balance Board - Place a balance board (or soft pillow or foam pad) 6-8 inches higher than your starting point. Step up 10 times.
 
Step down onto Balance Board - Place a balance board (or soft pillow or foam pad) 6-8 inches lower than your starting point. Step down 10 times.
 
Lateral Plyometrics - Perform a lateral (sideways) step-down and then step-up.
 
Single Leg Hops - Hop forward and concentrate on "sticking" the landing.
 
Single Leg Spot Jumps - Hop from spot to spot on floor.
 
Reactive Spot Jumps - Place numbered pieces of tape on floor and as a partner calls out a number, hop to that number.
 
 
By Elizabeth Quinn