Course Aim: The aim of this course is to provide up to date and evidence-based information of ankle, hindfoot and Achilles injuries in football players – how to prevent, evaluate and manage such injuries.

Learning objective: after completion of the course, attendees should be able to:

  • Foot and Ankle: Better understand the risks of the ankle injury occurance and how to prevent them
  • Differentiate between a normal, a high and a troublesome ankle sprain;
  • Manage acute and chronic ankle injuries and know whic need referral Differentiate between a normal, a high and a troublesome ankle sprain;
  • Diffeerentiate Laxity from Instability Position the concept of Micro-Instability;
  • Understand the long-term fate of bone bruises and if they need treatment;
  • Know where the pain in Achilles tendinopathy originates from;
  • Know the origin of the pain in Osteochondral defects and understand which of them need treatment Implement the use of Biologics, Shockwave and feed-forward training;
  • Recognize the ‘red flags’ for football player potential careed ending disorders.

The Event has been accredited for the following professions:

  • Podiatrist
  • Surgeon
  • Orthopedic technician
  • Physiotherapist

DAY 1 (From 9am to 6pm)

09:00am-9:10am WELCOME AND SAN ROSSORE PRESENTATION (Andrea Madonna | CEO of Casa di Cura San Rossore)

SESSION 1

9:10am-10:40am ANKLE SPRAIN: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SIMPLE ANKLE SPRAIN (Niek van Dijk, Hans Tol, Pietro Spennacchio)

    • Introduction
    • Side line management
    • Assessment and initial treatment
    • How to return to field after an ankle sprain
    • The high ankle sprain
    • The troublesome ankle sprain

CASE-BASED DISCUSSION (Pietro Spennacchio)

10:40am-10:50am ANATOMY TO REMEMBER (Niek van Dijk)

10:50am-11:20 COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 2

11:20am-13:00pm ANKLE INSTABILITY: MY ANKLE IS LAX, DO I NEED SURGERY? (Niek van Dijk, Pietro Spennacchio, Hans Tol)

    • Introduction: Instability vs laxity
    • Clinical assessment
    • FT: feedforward training
    • What is the current evidence?
    • The limits of open and arthroscopic treatment
    • Microinstability

CASE-BASED DISCUSSION (Giulia Favilli)

1:00pm-2:00pm LUNCH

SESSION 3

2:00pm-3:30pm ANKLE IMPINGEMENT: MIND THE GUTTERS (Niek van Dijk)

    • Anterior and posterior impingement: what is it and what can be done?
    • Can it be healed in the office?

CASE-BASED DISCUSSION (Hans Tol)

3:30pm-4:00pm COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 4

4:00pm-5:00pm CARTILAGE DEFECTS: WE ALL WALK ON WATER

    • Actual evidence for treatment
    • Bone Bruises: What do they mean?
    • Do they need treatment?

CASE-BASED DISCUSSION (Pietro Spennacchio)

SESSION 5

5:00pm-6:00pm THE LATEST IS ALWAYS THE GREATEST PART I – Interactive lecture “à la Carte”/discussion (Niek van Dijk)

7:00pm RECEPTION

DAY 2  (From 8am to 1pm)

SESSION 6

8:30am-9:00am THE LATEST IS ALWAYS THE GREATEST – Interactive lecture “à la Carte”/discussion (Niek van Dijk)

SESSION 7

9:00am-10:00am THE ACHILLES TENDON: FROM TENDINOPATHY TO RUPTURE (Niek van Dijk, Pietro Spennacchio, Hans Tol, Giulia Favilli)

    • What is tendinopathy and why it hurts
    • Clinical assessment
    • FT frontline
    • Shortware, PRP and NSAID
    • Surgery: why and when
    • Actual evidence for treatment of Achilles tendon ruptures

CASE-BASED DISCUSSION (Giulia Favilli)

10:00am-10:30am COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 8

10:30am-11:30am WHY DOES MY FOOT HURT? (Niek van Dijk, Giulia Favilli, Pietro Spennacchio)

    • Why does my foot hurt: basic principles
    • Clinical examination of the ankle and foot
    • Ankle and foot lesion in football players

CASE-BASED DISCUSSION (Pietro Spennacchio)

SESSION 9

11:30am-12:00pm WHEN CAN I GO BACK TO PLAY?-HOW TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION (Hans Tol, Niek van Dijk)

    • A decision-based model for return to play
    • Can imaging help?
    • How can functional training help?
    • When can I go back to play?

SESSION 10

12:00pm-12:15pm CAREER ENDING DISORDERS (Niek van Dijk)

12:15pm-12:45pm END OF COURSE/CERTIFICATES (Andrea Madonna | CEO of Casa di Cura San Rossore)

Course Scientific Chair:
Prof. Niek van Dijk (The Netherlands)

Organization Committee:
Dr. Roberto Di Mitri (Chair)
Prof. Paolo Parchi (Co-Chair)
Francesca Pardossi-Alice Maddaloni (Marketing & Communication)
Cristiana Di Martino (Welcoming service agent)

Internation Faculty:
Prof. Niek van Dijk (The Netherlands)
Prof. Hans Tol (The Netherlands)
Dr. Giulia Favilli (Italy)
Dr. Pietro Spennacchio (Luxembourg)