Management of Sports Knee Injuries
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9:00AM-9:30AM
PARTICIPANTS REGISTRATION
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9:30AM-10:30AM
SPORTS KNEE INJURIES OVERALL SCENARIO
Epidemiology, risk factors, specific aspects from different sports & settings -
10:30AM-10:45AM
COFFEE BREAK
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10:45AM-11:45AM
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE BACKGROUND OF ACL & ASSOCIATED LESIONS, ACL RE-INJURIES AND OTHER KNEE INJURIES
What we know and what we don’t about ACL injuries: debunking some myths, what we should all know rehab-wise, real word Vs scientific literature, meniscus tears, MCL & LCL tears, PCL lesions, bone marrow oedema, cartilage lesions -
11:45AM-12:30PM
WE ARE A TEAM, AREN’T WE? THE SURGEON-PHYSIO RELATIONSHIP
What we should learn from each other, why the attitude matters, the “no hierarchy” framework: models from abroad and strategies to make it happen - ROUND TABLE -
12:30PM-1:30PM
LUNCH BREAK
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1:30PM-2:45PM
IT HAPPENS! THE INJURY
What ‘to do’ & ‘not to do’ in the ACL injuries super-acute phase, what happens next and why, all the non-sense of some professional settings, testing in acute/subacute/chronic phases: what changes and why, do physios and surgeons test the same?, imaging: what a physio shouldn’t miss, decision-making with non-isolated ACL injuries: ACL + bone marrow oedema, meniscus-cartilage-PLC-MCL-LCL-PCL injuries - PRACTICAL & IMAGING SESSION -
2:45PM-3:30PM
THE POST-INJURY JOURNEY
Prehab or non-surgical approach: ‘money in the bank’, the informative talk with patient & stakeholders in pro sports based on evidence: how to set the basis for an ‘evidence-informed’ journey, can we realistically do this in all the professional sports settings? - PRACTICAL SESSION & ROUND TABLE -
3:30PM-3:45PM
BREAK
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3:45PM-4:30PM
WHO ARE YOU? COPERS Vs NON-COPERS IN ACL INJURIES
The concept/screening/evolutive nature of the classification/practice, the ‘high quality rehabilitation’ concept, exceptions based on patient’s preferences & goals: the ‘athlete/physio/physician deal’ - PRACTICAL SESSION -
4:30PM-5:45PM
NON-SURGICAL Vs SURGICAL PLAN
Does rehab really change that much with isolated ACL injuries?, decision-making with ACL isolated Vs non-isolated injuries, ACL-R surgical options: the grafts’ war & details on the most common surgical managements, why physios should routinely be in the operative room, the pre-op ‘talk’ between physio/surgeon and the patient: setting realistic expectations to prevent avoidable disasters, what is next following surgery from hour #1 in the top-notch clinics worldwide?, the physio and the surgeon perspectives - PRACTICAL & DECISION MAKING SESSION -
5:45PM-6:00PM
Q&A - CLOSE OF THE DAY
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9:00AM-9:30AM
CRITERIA TO BE CLEARED FOR SURGERY
Our proposal considering the scientific literature and further ideas -
9:30AM-10.45AM
MANAGING THE POST-SURGICAL KNEE - THE ACUTE PHASE PART 1
Day 1: change dressings, check the wounds, manage all the patient’s questions: a physio job all around the world, when…off crutches/driving/working/partying/Return To Run/Return To Train/Return To Sport?, patients’ expectations: when the pre-op discussion with the surgeon/physio is the problem, rehab in case of ACL-R with associated lesions, management with PCL with/without PLC & with MCL with/without PMC, the knee homeostasis concept: why we could not care less about strengthening at this stage, manual therapy: when it makes sense and when not, NMES works only if the patient works too - PRACTICAL & DECISION-MAKING SESSION -
10:45AM-11:00AM
BREAK
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11:00AM-12:45PM
MANAGING THE POST-SURGICAL KNEE - THE ACUTE PHASE PART 2
Planning the journey, the first 6 weeks or so: overcoming muscle inhibition, neuromuscular training, cardio, abs & hips, early motor re-learning, getting off the drugs ASAP via physical activity: firing the endocrine system to boost rehab, upper body didn’t undergo surgery: train it!, CKC Vs OKC, different grafts following ACL-R = different post-op rehab, the post-op red-flags: infections, DVTs, cyclop lesions, arthrofibrosis - PRACTICAL SESSION -
12:45PM-1:45PM
LUNCH BREAK
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1:45PM-2:45PM
THE EARLY INTERMEDIATE PHASE
Planning the journey, teaching skilful movements: internal Vs external focus, vision perturbation, progressive strengthening & endurance training, cardio/HIIT, abs & hips, balance, motor re-learning+, criteria to advance to the next phase and testing - PRACTICAL SESSION -
2:45PM-4:00PM
THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE
Planning the journey, Blood Flow Restriction/BFR & isoinertial training application in knee rehab, strengthening program for max strength, hard cardio HIIT, abs & hips, advanced balance, motor re-learning++, criteria to advance to the next phase and testing, isokinetic training & testing - PRACTICAL SESSION -
4:00PM-4:15PM
BREAK
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4:15PM-5:15PM
RETURN TO RUN/RTR
The progressive fashion and testing, RTR proposal considering the published scientific literature and further ideas, translating into practice, load monitoring concept - PRACTICAL SESSION -
5:15PM-5:30PM
Q&A - CLOSE OF THE DAY
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9:00AM-10:00AM
THE LATE-INTERMEDIATE PHASE
Planning the journey, progressive strengthening program: completing max strength & early plyometrics, running progressions, hopping & jumping, core, advanced balance++, motor re-learning++, overall load increase, criteria to advance to the next phase and testing, should we rehab the cartilage following knee surgery? - PRACTICAL SESSION -
10:00AM-11:15AM
RETURN TO TRAIN/RTT
The progressive fashion philosophy and the testing, the ‘restricted practice’, the ‘fatigue-state’ concept, RTT proposal considering the published scientific literature and further ideas, translating into practice - PRACTICAL SESSION -
11:15AM-11:30AM
BREAK
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11:30AM-12:30PM
THE PHYSIO & THE ATHLETIC TRAINER RELATIONSHIP
Learning from each other, professional profiles and massive per country differences, the ‘Italian Job’: unregulated professional activity OR the ‘Swiss paradox’: no degrees available in athletic training in Canton Ticino, the Sports PT and the Strength & Conditioning Specialist: the rest of the world habits -
12:30PM-1:30PM
LUNCH BREAK
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1:30PM-2:30PM
THE LATE PHASE
Planning the journey, the ‘ecological validity’ in rehab, plyometric training, running/ accelerations/sprinting, change of directions, core++, load progression/variations, progressive restricted practice: non-contact/easy, non-contact/hard, contact/easy, contact/hard, working in ‘fatigue-state’, criteria to advance to the next phase and testing - PRACTICAL SESSION -
2:30PM-3:45PM
RETURN TO SPORT/RTS
The progressive fashion philosophy and the testing, our proposal considering the published scientific literature, testing in ‘fatigue-state’, translating into practice, what if he fails the RTS tests: amateur/semi-pro/professionals? - PRACTICAL SESSION -
3:45PM-4:00PM
BREAK
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4:00PM-4:30PM
ACL INJURIES PREVENTION PROGRAMS
They’re effective and free: a short overview followed by a critical evaluation of the reason why they are not implemented enough -
16:30-17:00
Q&A - COURSE END
Video-message from a couple of knee legends, testing for the learning credits, certificate of attendance delivery
Course description
We present this 3-days knee rehabilitation course, coinceived and developed by the presenters, all knee specialized physical therapist and orthopaedic surgeons, clinicians and researchers, that cooperate in their everyday clinical practice and/or research. The concept underpinning the structure of this course that aims to be solidly based on the best available evidence (published and not published yet) and the clinical expertise accumulated by the instructors, constantly updated in each edition, is to provide clinicians with a comprehensive theoretical and heavily practical learning pathway around the rehabilitation following knee injuries.
The participants will be driven in practice through a journey from the moment of the injury to discharge/Return To Sport after the most frequent knee injuries that a wide range of individuals, from regular people to weekend warriors, from semi-pro to professional/elite athletes, can incur into - such as:
- anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears - either non-surgical or post-operative, differenciating by grafts
- ACL-R with associated lesions (MCL, LCL, meniscus, cartilage, postero-lateral corner injuries, cartilage lesions)
- isolated meniscus tears rehabilitation - either non-surgical or following meniscectomy/repair
- isolated medial & lateral collateral ligaments (MCL & LCL) injuries
- isolated posterior cruciate ligament tears
This is ideally represented by the following schematic learning pathway:
The instructors are firm supporters of the benefit of a strict cooperation between multiple health professionals to provide the best possible care to patients and injured athletes. Therefore, registering to this course, participants will learn how to factually put in place a multidisciplinary approach, evaluating patients and their injuries from the physical therapist and surgeon perspectives, including clinical assessment, diagnostic imaging, functional evaluation up to a truly shared intervention decision-making that involves the orthopaedic surgeon and the physical therapist’s judgement, eventually including the patient and related stakeholders; from the family to, in case of athletes, the team manager, the coach, the agent, the team medical doctor, etc.
The attendees will be guided through what should ideally happen from the first moments following knee injuries, their evaluation with the relative priorities, the formulation of a proper diagnosis, the determination reliable prognosis, and the planning of the most appropriate intervention based on the best available evidence, the clinicians shared expertise at the service of the patient and the injured subject preference and expectations. The reasons why structuring up a tight cooperation between surgeons and physical therapists that leads the therapists to actually attend in the operative room and how this can be a game-changer will be presented as well.
The course will cover the entire rehabilitation process, either post-operatively or following a non-surgical intervention. The theoretical and mostly practical focus will be on the elements that the physical therapist should put emphasis on depending on the type of knee injury (and possibly associated injuries), on how and when the fundamental physical qualities along the rehabilitation process have to be ‘chased’ with the appropriated progressions in order to achieve a complete recovery.
Overcoming muscle inhibition, regain range of motion, managing effusion, normalising walking gait, improving movement skills, applying/monitoring/managing load, regaining the different qualities of strength, returning to running and then to restricted training practice, taking into consideration the psychological aspects that might limit recovery, gradually exposing patients to their preferred physical activities/sports specific gestures, progressively testing, etc. - depending on the knee injury the time scale will be different but all patients/injured athletes will need to be exposed to the rehabilitation of all these qualities and abilities at some point to achieve a successful outcome, and this is the main focus of this course instructors. The everyday clinical reasoning put into practice in knee rehabilitation.
This includes testing patients/injured athletes along their rehabilitative journey, learning how to rate their current status to be actually able to decide whether they can safely proceed to the next phase (Return To Run, Return To Train on the Field, Return To Sport) or need to further improve under certain parameters and the scientific reason underpinning this approach.
Eventually, the course will analyze the RTS decision-making with dedicated practical focus.
Participants will be asked to practice, try, and experience what their patients will be requested to do during their rehabilitation process in order to feel it. They will be provided notions of biomechanics, introduced to different rehabilitative approaches/techniques and science-based concepts that will drive them through the process following different knee injuries.

Learning objectives
- Develop a healthy and productive surgeon-physical therapist professional relationship for the eventual patients’ benefit and the personal/professional growth
- Understand, critically appraise and put into context the scientific literature on knee injuries
- Realize that all knee patients/injured athletes will need to be exposed to the rehabilitation of the same physical & psychological qualities at some point and get in control of when the time comes to target the different abilities depending by their specific injury and their post-injury evolution
- Learn how to effectively implement a high-quality rehabilitation program following ACL isolated injuries (approached with an ACL-R or non-surgically), ACL-R with associated lesions, isolated meniscus tears or repairs, and MCL/LCL injuries
- Enhance the clinicians skills of connecting the piece of the puzzle merging biomechanics, kinesiology, exercise physiology and sports-specific concepts to orthopaedic decision-making following knee injuries, rehabilitation and discharge/RTS
- Upskill the clinicians testing abilities to progress through the knee rehabilitation phases until RTS
Registration fee
REGISTRATION for this 3-days course:
- Registration fee groups 4+ pp* €463,00 + VAT 22%
- Registration fee groups 8+ pp* €436,00 + VAT 22%
- Registration fee (early booking)* €479,00 + VAT 22% - until February 26th, 2021
- Registration fee €545,00 + VAT 22% - starting from February 27th, 2021
- -10% for members of our partners
*The aforementioned promo cannot be combined with the other ongoing discounts such as:
"10% discount fee for members of PARTNERS’ organizations”