Table 5.

Unilateral Weight Bearing Exercises

Exercise	Limitations and Considerations
Gait Training (Braced)	• Avoid compensations at the hip/trunk • Ensure reciprocal gait with decreasing dependence on crutches • Emphasize knee flexion through loading response • Emphasize knee extension at initial contact and in midstance
Step Up Exercises	• Up to 5 weeks - no higher than 4 inches • Up to 6 weeks - no higher than 7 inches (ADA maximum height)
Step and Hold Exercise	• Patient steps from the uninjured onto the injured limb, at least the distance of the normal stride • The individual is cued to imagine they are stepping over a puddle of water and to land with a heel-toe gait pattern to simulate walking • Avoid excessive stiffening, knee flexion, or medial collapse