These words appear across assessment, exercise and progression. Each card links to topics where the idea shows up most clearly.
Load
How much mechanical demand you place on a tissue — weight, speed, volume or complexity. Rehab progresses by changing load in controlled steps.
Open term →Progression
A planned increase in demand as symptoms and capacity allow. Skipping steps is a common way to stall recovery.
Open term →Irritability
How easily symptoms flare and how long they linger. High irritability usually means smaller doses and slower jumps.
Open term →Neuromuscular control
The nervous system’s timing of muscle activation for balance, landing and cutting — as important as raw strength after many injuries.
Open term →Range of motion (ROM)
How far a joint moves in each plane. Useful ROM for life and sport is often more valuable than chasing a number alone.
Open term →Stability
Control of a joint under load and surprise. Strength without control is incomplete rehab.
Open term →Tendinopathy
Load-related tendon irritability, often with warm-up pain or morning stiffness. Progressive loading is usually central.
Open term →Red flag
A warning sign that needs prompt clinical review rather than unsupervised exercise progression.
Open term →Return to sport
A staged decision based on tissue healing, strength, control and sport demands — not a calendar date alone.
Open term →Exercise dose
Sets, reps, rest and frequency. Clear dosing is why good home programmes look “simple”.
Open term →Guided self-care
Home or clinic-adjacent work with clear boundaries. Still clinical when the dose and stop-rules are right.
Open term →Acute phase
Early days after injury or flare — protect enough to calm irritability, then start rebuilding sooner than “rest forever”.
Open term →Persistent symptoms
Symptoms lasting beyond expected tissue healing. Often need load management, confidence and graded exposure together.
Open term →Proprioception
Joint position sense. Ankle and knee rehab often rebuild this with balance and perturbation work.
Open term →Core control
Timed trunk and pelvic control that supports limbs — not endless sit-ups.
Open term →Scapular control
Shoulder-blade timing that sets a stable base for reaching and overhead work.
Open term →Gait
Walking pattern. Hip, knee and foot problems often show up as changes in step length, limp or push-off.
Open term →Fall risk
Chance of losing balance in daily life. Strength, sensation and confidence all matter.
Open term →Post-operative rehab
Structured loading after surgery. Protection first, then capacity — protocol and clinician guidance matter.
Open term →Pacing
Spreading activity so flares stay manageable. Useful in persistent pain and neuro recovery.
Open term →