Second International Ankle Symposium

Jay Hertel, Thomas W. Kaminski

DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2005.0301

The Second International Ankle Symposium was a multidisciplinary conference focused on topics related to ankle instability and associated pathologies and was held on the campus of the University of Delaware in October 2004. The first symposium was held in Ulm, Germany in 2000 and its success served as the catalyst for the second symposium. The most recent symposium brought together over 75 clinicians and scientists from disciplines such as physical therapy, athletic training, orthopedics, podiatry, and biomechanics. Participants represented many countries, including Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. A call for abstracts was initially distributed in the fall of 2003. Members of the organizing committee reviewed all submitted abstracts for scientific merit. Thirty-two abstracts were accepted and presented at the symposium. The educational program consisted of several invited plenary lectures from internationally recognized experts and 19 podium and 13 poster presentations of original research. The symposium also provided for considerable scholarly interaction among the attendees. The meeting culminated with the formation of the International Ankle Consortium, a multidisciplinary group aiming to further the scientific understanding and to improve the clinical care of ankle instability and related pathologies. This group will work to develop standards for ankle instability research, such as guidelines for inclusion and exclusion criteria in ankle instability studies and development of a standardized clinical outcomes tool for use in ankle instability studies. Plans have already commenced for the third International Ankle Symposium to be held at University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, September 1-3, 2006. This special supplement to the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy includes a summary statement, synopses of 5 plenary lectures, and the abstracts of the original research presentations from the second International Ankle Symposium.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2005; 35(5):A1-A28.  doi:10.2519/jospt.2005.0301

Key Words: ankle instability, outcomes tool, clinical care

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