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ACL Revision Reconstruction Starter Exercise Guide

A short starting program — 8 exercises drawn from the full 50-exercise program. These are the movements most people begin with.

Before you begin. This is general guidance, not a personal prescription. If your surgeon or therapist has given you a different program or different limits, follow theirs.

1. Heel Prop Quad Set

Heel Prop Quad Set exercise illustration

What it helps: Helps the knee settle out fully straight. Full extension is what lets you walk smoothly and stand without strain.

How often: 10 repetitions, several times a day.

  1. Place your heel on a stool, pillow, or rolled towel.
  2. Allow the knee to hang freely.
  3. Tighten your thigh muscles and push the back of the knee downward.
  4. Hold for 5-10 seconds.

Tip: Ice or a light weight may be added if instructed.

2. Prone Hangs

What it helps: Restores full straightening of the knee. Regaining this early matters more than regaining bend: a knee that does not fully straighten changes how you walk and is much harder to correct later.

How often: 2–3 sets of hold 5–10 minutes, daily.

  1. Lie face down on a bed or couch with your thigh supported and the knee and lower leg hanging off the edge.
  2. Let the leg hang freely and relax the thigh completely. Gravity does the work.
  3. Allow the knee to settle toward straight. A pulling sensation behind the knee is expected.
  4. Hold the position while staying relaxed, then bend the knee gently a few times before getting up.

Tip: Relaxing is the exercise. Holding the muscles tight stops the knee from settling and wastes the stretch.

3. Quad Sets

Quad Sets exercise illustration

What it helps: Wakes up the quadriceps — the big thigh muscles that support and control your knee. Getting them firing is the foundation of a strong, steady leg.

How often: 2-3 sets of 10, a few times a day.

  1. Sit or lie with your leg straight.
  2. Tighten the muscle on top of your thigh, pressing the back of your knee down.
  3. Hold briefly, then relax.

4. Patellar Mobilization

What it helps: Stops the kneecap becoming tethered by scar tissue after surgery. A kneecap that does not glide blocks both full straightening and full bending, so this quietly protects the range of motion you are working for.

How often: 2 sets of 10 in each direction, daily.

  1. Sit with your leg out straight and the thigh muscles completely relaxed.
  2. Place your thumb and fingers on the edges of your kneecap.
  3. Glide it gently toward the inside of the knee, hold briefly, then toward the outside.
  4. Then glide it gently upward toward the thigh, and downward toward the shin.
  5. Move slowly and only as far as it goes easily.

Tip: The thigh must be relaxed. A tightened quadriceps locks the kneecap and nothing will move.

5. Heel Slides

Heel Slides exercise illustration

What it helps: Coaxes gentle bending back into the knee — restoring the motion you need for stairs, sitting, and getting in and out of a car.

How often: 2-3 sets of 10, a few times a day.

  1. Lie on your back with your legs straight.
  2. Slowly slide your heel toward you, bending the knee.
  3. Slide it back down.

Tip: Only go as far as is comfortable.

6. Walking with Crutches or Walker (Non-Weight-Bearing)

What it helps: Safe walking with crutches or a walker that keeps weight off the healing leg, protecting the bone while you stay mobile.

How often: needed.

  1. Keep all weight off the surgical foot, using your crutches or walker.
  2. Take short, level trips as needed.
  3. Keep the foot elevated when resting.

Tip: Follow your surgeon's weight-bearing instructions exactly in the early weeks.

7. Straight Leg Raises

Straight Leg Raises exercise illustration

What it helps: Builds quad and hip strength while the knee stays straight, so the muscle works hard without stressing the joint.

How often: 2-3 sets of 10, once or twice a day.

  1. Lie down with one leg bent and the other straight.
  2. Tighten your thigh and lift the straight leg a few inches.
  3. Lower slowly.

Tip: Keep the knee straight as you lift.

8. Glute Squeezes

Glute Squeezes exercise illustration

What it helps: Wakes up the glutes — the big muscles that steady and support your hip. Getting them firing again is the first step toward a hip that feels stronger and carries you with less strain on the joint.

How often: 2-3 sets of 10, a few times a day.

  1. Lie or sit comfortably.
  2. Squeeze your buttock muscles together.
  3. Hold a few seconds, then relax.

See the complete 50-exercise program, phase by phase.

Recovery reading

Browse all exercise guides · Condition guides · Recovery education library

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These are general exercise guides, not a personal prescription. The repetitions and frequency shown are what's commonly used — your own surgeon or therapist may advise something different, and their guidance comes first.