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Phases of Rehab - Return to Performance
Written for PT students, early-career clinicians, and performance coaches pursuing football.
Devin Limerick
April 6th, 2026
Good Morning! Happy Monday!
Today wraps up the phases of rehab series that I follow when rehabilitating our power 4 athletes. I’ve found a lot of success with this system and will continue to build on it throughout my career.
This last phase I will cover is Return to Performance!
*The injuries discussed in this newsletter are for general educational purposes only. I am not affiliated with the athlete’s medical team, and the information shared does not reflect any insider or team medical details. Specifics about the injury are often unavailable, which can significantly influence the estimated timeline for return to play.
Return to Performance
Athletes make it to this phase once they have passed all the return to play test and can get back onto the field. In most cases, the athlete is sent back to the field and the clinician moves onto the next athletes. However, there is often still work that can be done.
Prevention
First, prevention of further injuries is key! Thats because the number 1 risk factor for an injury is a previous injury of that same tissue. Therefore, it is important for us to teach the athlete preventative exercises and mechanics to reduce the risk of reinjury.
They also could be susceptible to other injuries. For example, the hamstring muscle plays a strong role in assistance to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) to reduce translation of the tibia. If that muscle is weak, underperforming, or hasn’t been stressed similar to it is on the field, then the athlete is at a higher risk for an ACL tear.
Performance
Once the athlete is back to play, they’re either at a lower level of performance or at the same level of performance prior to the injury. We should get the athlete above the level of performance they were at prior to the injury. This can include position specific exercises to help their performance or working on the athletes limitations (limited internal rotation at the hip, weak foot intrinsics with pronated feet, rigid high arches, limited thoracic mobility and stability, etc.)
Stress on the Body
Stress with exercises will include multiplanar movements to create an environment similar to the field. Additionally, strengthening outside of neutral will include high velocity exercises at end ranges of motion. This is an advanced concept, but can be critical for elite athletes.
We are strengthening tissue that is already under stretch in vulnerable positions, fast. This is introduced in the last phase because the athlete needs to be progressed to these exercises. Skipping this progression could lead to injury to the athlete.
For a hamstring, an exercise would be a nordic curl with a catch at the bottom. Or for a shoulder injury, a hand elevated push up with the chest going below the hands and exploding upwards. Programming these at low reps and at the beginning of the week before a game so the athlete can recovery properly is extremely important.
*Due to my professional association with the Atlanta Falcons during preseason and my current role with the Florida State Seminoles, I will not provide educational content or commentary on any injuries within these programs during or after the season.
Shoulder Sleeper
