BookA strength test compares your injured side with your other side, often as a limb symmetry index. Your physiotherapist reads that figure with the clinical review and the demands of your sport before deciding the next step.
The figure is useful when you know which question it answers, and which parts of a return decision still sit with the clinical review.
| What testing shows | What it leaves out | |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | How much force a selected muscle group produced on each side in a set position | Whether that force is enough for the tasks in your sport |
| Power | How quickly force was produced in a selected jump, land or push | Skill, timing and decisions that happen once the ball is in play |
| Change over time | Whether the same test has moved since the last review | What the sessions between those reviews actually included, unless those sessions are reviewed as well |
| Comparison | The injured side as a percentage of the other side, written as a limb symmetry index | Hop tests, movement quality and the demands of the sport, which sit outside this figure |
The index divides your injured side's result by your other side's, so 90 per cent means nine tenths of the force. van Melick and colleagues (2016) recommend strength, hop and movement tests together rather than one figure.
More even quadriceps strength at return went with fewer knee reinjuries in the Delaware-Oslo cohort (Grindem and colleagues, 2016), so the comparison is tracked through ACL rehab.
Keep building the current block and retest at the next review. van Melick and colleagues recommend a test battery rather than a 90 per cent rule, and your physiotherapist reads the figure with the clinical review.
How the symmetry index worksVALD ForceDecks and ForceFrame are used when a result will change the next step, such as keeping or changing loads. Between reviews, coaches run supervised sessions on the gym-based physiotherapy floor from your written plan.
Gym-based physiotherapy
Dr Sam Baylis and John MacAuliffe decide each return step, and James Bowen's coaches run the sessions.
Coaches the strength work between reviews from the physiotherapist's current plan.
Reads strength tests with the clinical review before a return.
Reads training load and test results before the next block.
Testing is added in these plans when a side-to-side comparison will change the next step.
Quadriceps comparisons are tracked through each phase of rehab.
A strength comparison is added when it will change pressing or overhead loads.
The test and your sport's calendar are read together at each review.
Your surgeon's protocol sets what is allowed, and testing adds a number.
A retest uses the same set-up as the first, so your physiotherapist can see whether the gap has moved after a block. The next block is written from that reading and what your sport still needs.
How blocks, sessions and reviews fit together is set out in how gym-based physiotherapy works.
No, strength testing is not claimable on extras. A physiotherapy appointment may be, depending on your cover. Check the current fees before you book, or contact Adapt to confirm claiming first.
See fees and rebatesNo, the index is one comparison your physiotherapist reads with the clinical review, hop tests, movement quality and the demands of your sport. van Melick and colleagues recommend that battery to guide return to play, rather than any single figure.
The limb symmetry index needs both results, because it divides the injured side by the other side. How the injured side feels on its own does not show that gap, which is why both sides are recorded when a comparison will inform the next step.
Both remain inputs. van Melick and colleagues recommend strength tests, hop tests and movement quality together, so your physiotherapist does not drop one result because the other looks more even. The clinical review and the sport's demands sit with those figures.
No. Testing sits inside a physiotherapy review when a measurement will inform the next step. Supervised gym sessions are a separate part of gym-based physiotherapy and are not required for a comparison to be recorded.
When the surgeon's protocol allows the test position and the clinical review needs a number beside how the area feels. There is no set week that applies to every operation, and the first comparison is chosen for the question it will answer.
Your physiotherapist decides each progression and return decision, reading the figure with the clinical review and the sport's demands. Coaches run the supervised sessions from that updated plan.
British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016
British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016
Sam and John are registered physiotherapists who decide each progression and return decision at Adapt. Their AHPRA registration details are on their profiles.
Last updated on 21 October 2026