Testing and training the foot for rehabilitation and improving sports performance (part 1) with Romain Tourillon

This week on the Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob is speaking to Foot and ankle rehabilitation lead at the Hôpital de La Tour, Romain Tourillon. Romain is conducting his PhD under the supervision of JB Morin and others and is investigating the role of the foot on sports performance. Recently Romain wrote an incredible article for Sportsmith on Training the foot to improve performance in sprinting, jumping and change of direction and we wanted to get him on the podcast to get into the detail on some of the assessments and exercises presented in this article. This episode is split into two parts with the first part focusing on the link between foot strength and sports performance. Romain gives us a great overview of what the literature says before explaining current foot strength practices and why they are becoming outdated and largely ineffective. He then moves onto describing the assessments used to quantify forefoot strength and why its important before finally giving us a detailed look at the exercises he uses to develop forefoot strength. There is a lot of misinformation on foot training but this episode lays out the scientific and experiential evidence so you can better train your athletes. Main talking points - Why do we need to train the foot? Contribution to sports performance Basic lesson in foot anatomy Current/traditional foot strengthening protocols in rehab What the research says about forefoot strength and performance Forefoot strength assessments for the lab and gym Forefoot strengthening principles for maximal force programme Hypertrophy principles for maximal force programme