The Performance Doc

The Performance Doc The Performance Doc provides the BEST results in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Performance Doc was opened in 2016 by Dr. Leon Knight in Charlotte, NC.

As Performance physical therapists, our mission is to help you eliminate your limitations and get you back to doing what you love! The Performance Doc is different from traditional physical therapy practices as they provide full-hour sessions of individualized one-on-one care. They provide spine care, sports rehab and recovery, women's health physical therapy, manual therapy, and pre-op and post-op surgery therapy.

Comment “ACL” below and I’ll send you access to my CEU-credentialed ACL course + a discount code.Most ACL retears happen...
06/20/2026

Comment “ACL” below and I’ll send you access to my CEU-credentialed ACL course + a discount code.

Most ACL retears happen because rehab stopped before the riskiest phase ever started.

Here’s what the research actually says…

Athletes who return to sport are 6x more likely to suffer another ACL injury than athletes with no ACL history.

Within 2 years of returning to sport — about 9% retear the same graft. About 20% tear the OTHER knee.

Read that again. The “good” knee isn’t safe either. It’s been compensating the whole time.

So why does rehab keep missing this?

Here’s what the research actually says:

Athletes who return to sport are 6x more likely to suffer another ACL injury than athletes with no ACL history.

Within 2 years of returning to sport — about 9% retear the same graft. About 20% tear the OTHER knee.

Read that again. The “good” knee isn’t safe either. It’s been compensating the whole time.

So why does rehab keep missing this?

Here’s what the research actually says:

Athletes who return to sport are 6x more likely to suffer another ACL injury than athletes with no ACL history.

Within 2 years of returning to sport — about 9% retear the same graft. About 20% tear the OTHER knee.

Read that again. The “good” knee isn’t safe either. It’s been compensating the whole time.

So why does rehab keep missing this?

Because most clinics stop testing once a patient can run.

Jogging in a straight line gets treated like the finish line. No deceleration testing. No cutting. No reactive landing mechanics. No real change-of-direction work.

That’s not return to sport. That’s return to jogging.

In my method, this is Phase 6 — Deceleration. It’s where we test if a patient can actually stop, cut, and land under control. Not just move forward.

This is the phase most rehab never gets to.

And it’s why I see so many patients 8-12 months out: cleared, discharged, “doing fine,” who show up not feeling confident. They were never tested past running. They knew something was off. Nobody checked.

If you’re a clinician and you want the exact framework: every phase, every test, every decision point …

Comment “ACL” and I’ll send you access to my CEU course plus a disc

Comment ‘RUN’ and I’ll send you the other 12 criteria ACL patients must pass to begin jogging.🏃🏽‍♀️ The PRO Method: Phas...
06/19/2026

Comment ‘RUN’ and I’ll send you the other 12 criteria ACL patients must pass to begin jogging.🏃🏽‍♀️

The PRO Method: Phase 5 Intro to Impact

This is where my ACL patients have to pass a battery of tests to show readiness to begin jogging.

In my ACL protocol….

15 hops in place is one of my criteria for my ACL patients to pass!!

Here is what I look for…

1. A “soft” knee when landing showing good force absorption

2. Landing in the same place with each rep

3. Comparable to the leg

That’s it and we can start 🏃🏽‍♂️

06/19/2026

When I introduce the lateral step down to a quad tendon repair patient, nothing about the setup is accidental.

We start on just the step, no riser. Lower height, less demand, room to build.

Toe-to-heel descent to control how he loads.

Hands on the hips to cue a level pelvis.

Mirror in front so he can self-monitor for hip drop in real time.

And a verbal cue to keep the knee tracking over the toe.

One exercise with 5 intentional choices. That’s the difference between giving someone a step down and coaching one.

This level of detail is built into every one of my protocols. Comment ‘PROTOCOLS’ for the full system.

06/17/2026

Comment ‘Protocols’ and I’ll send you the details for the exact testing I used on this case.👇🏽

She was 1 year out from ACL reconstruction.

Cleared by her surgeon. Discharged by her previous PT.

But she didn’t feel ready.

So she drove 2 hours for a second opinion.

Good ROM. Good MMT. Movement that looked fine on paper. Exactly the kind of patient most therapists would sign off on without a second thought.

Here’s what we found when we actually tested her.

Isometric testing showed a 22% strength deficit on the surgical side.

Her ACL-RSI score (psychological readiness) came back at 57%.

She’d been telling everyone she didn’t feel confident. The number just proved she was right.

Then we tested function.

Lateral step down — failed.
Forward step down — failed.
Single-leg squat to box — failed.

Anterior knee pain. No eccentric control. Hip-hinge compensation instead of quad loading.

A year out. “Cleared.”

But base on the actual assessment, she belongs in Phase 4: progressive overload. That’s the phase most athletes pass at 3-5 months post-op.

She’s at month 12.

The calendar said return-to-sport.
The criteria said she still has work to do.

It can be overwhelming when a high level patient comes in and overall they look “impairment free.”

This is one case. The exact testing, the phases, and the criteria for moving someone forward, that’s all mapped out in my protocols.

Comment ‘Protocols’ and I’ll send you the details.👇🏽

06/16/2026

Comment ‘PROTOCOLS’ and I’ll send you the exact testing + criteria framework I used on this guy👆🏽

He came to me at 12 weeks after meniscus surgery because something felt off… like he wasn’t getting what he needed.

In 3 months at another clinic, the only thing anyone ever measured was his range of motion.

Day 1 with me, he was shocked at how much I tested.

That’s not “extra.” It’s our job.

This is why patients leave the clinics that don’t test… to find the one that does.

Want the testing and progression criteria mapped out for every phase of post-op rehab?
Comment ‘PROTOCOLS’ and I’ll send you the details.

11/02/2025

Clinicians, do you feel open chain exercises for ACL Rehab is safe to use?

Address

9611 Sherrill Estates Road Suite A
Huntersville, NC
28078

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 5pm
Tuesday 7am - 5pm
Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 7am - 5pm
Friday 7am - 5pm

Telephone

+19802221141

Website

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