Functional progressions: An aid to athletic rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is a critical component of conservative and surgical management of musculoskeletal injuries. Determining whether an athlete has been successfully rehabilitated and may safely return to competition can be difficult. As an adjunct to rehabilitation, functional progressions (planned, progressively difficult sequence of exercises) can help the clinician determine the status of injured athletes and prepare them for competition. The authors discuss walk-jog, jog-run and hop-jump sequences among other functional progressions. The recommend that practitioners develop progressions for each athlete to speed rehabilitation and return to activity.