Foundations of Return to Sport: The Ankle
In many rehabilitation settings, the approach to returning athletes to sport after an ankle injury often lacks a clear, objective framework, which can lead to inconsistent decision-making. That's why we created the "Foundations of Return to Sport: The Ankle" course — a structured and reliable system that ensures a safe and successful return to sport for athletes recovering from ankle injuries.
Our course incorporates evidence-based criteria, objective assessments, and customized strategies that allow clinicians to make informed decisions grounded in data rather than cognitive bias or emotion. By completing this course, you’ll gain the confidence and tools to make clear, consistent, and evidence-driven decisions, setting athletes up for a successful and safe return to play.
What to expect:
- A framework to ensure athletes are fully prepared and safe to return to sport
- Clinical decision-making tools for assessing strength, function, and psychological readiness
- Objective entry and exit criteria for return-to-sport clearance
- Hands-on lab with muscle strength testing, functional performance tests, and psychological readiness assessments
Course Format
This course will be delivered in a 1-Day Format and will include both lectures and hands-on practice. Participants will engage in discussions, practical exercises, and demonstrations, ensuring they can apply learned concepts to real-world clinical settings.
Topics
Part 1: Introduction and Review of Return to Sport Testing
Discussion of common ankle return-to-sport tests and other criteria, focusing on orthopedic physical exams, dynamometry, functional performance testing, and patient-reported outcome measures.
Part 2: Muscle Strength Testing with Isometric Dynamometry
Instructors will demonstrate multiple techniques for muscle strength testing, including Dorsiflexion, Plantarflexion, Eversion, and Inversion at 0° and 90°. Participants will practice these techniques using isometric belt-stabilized dynamometers, and we will cover Limb Symmetry Index (LSI), EPIC, and relevant contextual ratios.
Part 3: Functional Performance Testing
This section will cover key functional performance tests essential for assessing an athlete's readiness to return to sport. Participants will learn how to conduct and analyze these tests, with a focus on biomechanical considerations for effective decision-making.
Part 4: Psychological Readiness
In this section, we will emphasize the critical role of patient-reported outcome measures in assessing both function and psychological readiness for return to sport. These measures help clinicians evaluate the mental and emotional aspects of an athlete’s recovery, ensuring they are not only physically prepared but also mentally ready to return to play.
Accreditation
This class has been approved for CEU’s by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) of Massachusetts