Prep Performance Center

You can have a strong cardiovascular system and still lack the strength and control needed to handle the demands of running.

Every stride is essentially a single-leg landing.

Your glutes, hips, and core have to stabilize your pelvis while your leg absorbs and produces force. And they have to do it again and again for thousands of steps.

When one side is weaker, your pelvis isn’t stable, or your knee doesn’t have the control it needs, your body has to find another way to move.

That doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get injured. But repeating inefficient movement under a high volume of running can contribute to problems, especially when mileage increases too quickly or recovery isn’t enough.

That’s why runners benefit from more than just running.

Strength training.
Core and hip strengthening.
Cross-training.

And sometimes, the first step is simply figuring out what your body is actually doing when you run.

That’s exactly what we look at during a Running Analysis at PREP Performance Center.

We assess your running mechanics and movement patterns to identify areas that may be limiting your performance or contributing to unnecessary stress, then help you understand what to work on.

🏃‍♀️ Ready to understand your running mechanics?

Tap the link in bio to book your Running Analysis and get started.

Being cleared isn’t the same as being ready.

Surgical healing is one milestone. Athletic readiness is another.

At 6 months, you may be further along in the healing and rehab process, but that doesn’t automatically mean your strength, power, confidence, and movement quality are ready for the demands of sport.

That’s why return to sport should be based on criteria, not the calendar.

Before returning to sport, you should be able to demonstrate:

• Strength – appropriate strength with minimal side-to-side deficits. A ≥90% limb symmetry index is commonly used as a benchmark, but symmetry alone isn’t enough. Both legs need to be strong.

• Hop performance – single, triple, crossover, and timed hop tests with appropriate performance, control, and symmetry.

• Landing mechanics – the ability to absorb force and control the knee and trunk without excessive valgus or compensations.

• Change of direction & reactive ability – control during sprinting, deceleration, cutting, jumping, and unplanned movements.

• Knee response – no significant pain, swelling, instability, or symptoms that persist after training.

• Psychological readiness – confidence and readiness to trust the knee during high-level sport movements.

The calendar tells you how long it’s been.

Testing tells you what your body can actually do.

Don’t return because the months have passed.

Return because you’ve earned the capacity to handle the demands of your sport.

Female athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 are 4–6 times more likely to experience an ACL injury than boys their age.

This higher risk isn’t due to bad luck—it’s largely influenced by biology. Factors such as ACL size, pelvic structure, joint laxity, and hormonal changes all play a role, and they’re things athletes can’t control.

What they can control is how they prepare.

Each year, thousands of young female athletes sustain ACL injuries, many of which could be prevented with the right training. Research shows that neuromuscular and performance training can reduce the risk of ACL injuries by up to 70%.

We can’t change anatomy or hormones, but we can improve strength, balance, movement mechanics, landing technique, deceleration, and body control. Those are skills that protect athletes and help them perform at a higher level.

Unfortunately, fewer than 20% of young female athletes are participating in this type of injury prevention training.

Preparing for sport isn’t just about performing better—it’s about staying healthy enough to keep competing.

Let’s raise the standard for injury prevention and give young athletes every opportunity to thrive.

Click the link in bio to learn more. 🔗

Recovery takes more than time. It takes a plan that matches the demands of your sport.

This rehab session includes lower body strengthening, single-leg training, soccer-specific movement, and performance testing with our VALD ForceDecks to monitor progress and help guide the next steps in recovery.

Every athlete’s journey is unique, and every session is designed to support a confident return to the field.

Ready to take the next step in your recovery?

Schedule an evaluation with our team today.

🔗 Link in our bio!