Electromyography Evaluation of Bodyweight Exercise Progression in a Validated Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Rehabilitation Program: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The participants were healthy athletes, not people with ACL injury, so the muscle activity may differ in injured or recovering knees. The study tested only bodyweight exercises from an appendix, not the full ACL rehabilitation protocol or exercises using weights or machines. Muscle activity was measured as a percentage of maximum voluntary isometric contraction; it did not measure strength gains, function, pain, return to sport, or injury outcomes. The original five-phase protocol was evaluated as three phases, so the findings do not describe every phase or every exercise. Participants and the test leader were not blinded, although the exercise order was randomized and the statistician was blinded to exercises. No familiarization visit was provided, though only trials with proper technique were analyzed. Twenty participants were tested on one occasion, so individual variation and day-to-day variability cannot be assessed.

The supplied text says financial disclosure statements were obtained, but it does not report a specific funding source or author conflicts. There is no statement that a sponsor designed or wrote the study.

Do not read these muscle activity levels as proof that the exercises improve strength or recovery after ACL injury. The study measured muscle activation in healthy athletes, not patient outcomes, and it evaluated only selected bodyweight exercises.