THE SPORTING FOOT-ANKLE COMPLEX: FROM REHAB TO SPORT PERFORMANCE

Join this 2-day practical workshop led by Romain Tourillon, PhD. and learn how to assess, train, and optimize the foot-ankle complex for injury rehab and athletic performance. Discover cutting-edge strategies to build strength, explosiveness, and resilience from the ground up.

As the first interface with the ground, the foot-ankle complex is a fundamental region in human biomechanics. Whether it is for running, jumping, accelerating or changing direction, the foot-ankle complex plays a crucial role at absorbing impact forces, producing mechanical energy and transmitting the forces produced by the proximal joints. Scientific data produced over the past ten years demonstrates the importance of triceps surae and extrinsic muscles to optimize lower limb energy conservation and propulsion. Therefore, the real challenge for a therapist lies in their ability to effectively strengthen the foot-ankle muscles of their patients.

This course will give you the keys to:

• Objectively assess the muscular strength of the foot-ankle
• Effectively strengthen the foot absorbers and foot propellers muscles for a therapeutic rehabilitation or athletic development purpose
• Improve reactive strength and explosivity of the foot-ankle complex and
• To build a high-load periodized foot-ankle strengthening protocol in a rehab or performance oriented approach.

Workshop Program:

DAY 1
06.12.2025 9:00 – 17:00

• • Course Introduction
  • Biomechanical role of the foot-ankle and its muscles (theory)
  • Main sport injuries of the foot complex: plantar heel pain,bone stress injuries and metatarsalgia (theory & practice)
  • Evaluation of the “absorbing foot-ankle” and “propulsing foot-ankle” (theory & practice)

DAY 2
07.12.2025 9:00 – 17:00

• • Improving the “absorbing foot-ankle” and “propulsing foot-ankle” (theory & practice)
  • Evaluating and improving vertical and horizontal foot-ankle explosivity and reactive strength (theory & practice)
  • Building a foot-ankle strengthening protocol & integrating it into a rehab or performance approach(theory)
  • Conclusion and take-home messages

More about Romain Tourillon:

Romain Tourillon combines his roles as a sports physiotherapist, researcher and educator through his work with individual athletes at the Swiss Olympic Medical of La Tour Hospital in Geneva (Switzerland).

Currently leading the foot-ankle service, he also did a PhD thesis on the role of MTPj flexion strength in propulsion kinetics and sport physical performance under the supervision of JB Morin at the University of Saint-Etienne (France).

Romain actively participates in the representation of the profession on the international level as he’s an active member of the scientific organization: International Ankle Consortium and organized the 10th International Ankle Symposium 2024 in France.

On a clinical level, Romain completed his MSc in physiotherapy and then undertook his MSc S&C (Training and Sport Performance Optimization).

On a scientific level, Romain participated as a speaker in several national and international congress: International Ankle Symposium, French Ankle Symposium, European Congress of Sports Science, etc and has peer-reviewed publications around the thematic of human foot-ankle muscles strength.

Finally, he is also a private consultant for elite professional athletes or sport structures in parallel of his clinical and scientific activities.

LOCATION

Health & Performance, Ivanská cesta 30/D
821 04 Bratislava, Slovakia