Decel to Excel: Translating Countermovement Jump Metrics Into Targeted Rehabilitation Strategies for Return to Play.

BACKGROUND

Athletes often return to sport despite persistent neuromuscular deficits that impair deceleration, force attenuation, and reacceleration following change of direction-qualities that are essential for sport performance and injury risk reduction. Return-to-play (RTP) criteria have frequently relied on global outputs or symmetry thresholds, which may fail to detect subtle limitations. Building on our original Decel to Excel framework, advanced force plate metrics provide an opportunity to better characterize late-stage performance readiness. CLINICAL QUESTION: How can force plate metrics guide phase-specific rehabilitation throughout the course of care? We expand the Decel to Excel framework, which integrates clinically meaningful force plate metrics, with phase-specific rehabilitation strategies to inform RTP decision making. KEY

RESULTS

Countermovement jump-derived force plate metrics, offer insight into limb- and phase-specific neuromuscular qualities not captured by jump height or distance alone. Persistent deficits in these metrics are often missed following lower-limb injury, particularly anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and are associated with altered movement strategies during sport-specific tasks. We outline practical methods for interpreting force traces, linking metric-specific deficits to observable movement patterns, and selecting targeted rehabilitation interventions. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Integrating force plate metrics within a structured workflow allows clinicians to individualize late-stage rehabilitation, enhance interdisciplinary communication, and move beyond symmetry-based RTP thresholds. The Decel to Excel 2.0 framework helps to close the gap between objective data and clinical decision making to support safer and more performance-relevant RTP outcomes. JOSPT Open 2026;4(3):247-253. Epub 3 June 2026. doi:10.2519/josptopen.2026.0215.