While gaining back knee range of motion is the biggest preoperative indicator for a successful ACLr surgery, maintaining proximal strength of your core and glutes is a way to jump start post-surgery rehabilitation. Learning how to activate these muscles in addition to building up as much strength as possible prior to surgery means that once your knee is strong enough to squat, hinge, lift, lunge, etc, you won’t have to worry about other weak links in the functional chain - your core and glutes - getting in the way of your rehabilitation. . 1️⃣Lie on your side with your affected leg on top 2️⃣Bend your bottom leg 3️⃣Slightly squeeze your core. Maintain this activation throughout the entire exercise 4️⃣Push your bottom knee into the ground to keep your pelvis stable 5️⃣Straight your top leg and lift it up and back. The key is that your are not just lifting the leg up, but also BACK a bit 6️⃣You should feel a deep muscle burning in the back of your hips where your glutes are, not in the front of your hips. If you feel it in the front of your hips, make sure your hips are pointed directly ahead of you and not up to the sky, and also check that you are lifting the top leg backwards
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