Get comprehensive preparation for the Sports Medicine Subspecialty Certification Examination at this intensive review course, designed for both current fellows and practicing surgeons seeking certification. This course is particularly valuable for candidates looking to solidify their knowledge of core concepts, review high-yield topics, and gain strategic insights for exam success.
*Ticketed event. Separate Registration Required.
Registration Fees:
Fellow: $450
Member: $550 Non-Member: $650
Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Breg
This dynamic and interactive session is designed for residents and fellows, offering a unique opportunity to learn from and engage with sports medicine leaders. The forum provides invaluable guidance to help you navigate through your professional journey and set the foundation for long-term success. Sponsored by Smith & Nephew and Vericel. *Free to attend; advance registration required.
*Courses included with registration; however advance sign-up is required.
Female athletes sustain anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries at disproportionately high rates compared to males, with risk amplified by complex interactions among anatomical, hormonal, biomechanical, and psychosocial factors. Furthermore, there has been a rapid increase in the number of female athletes over the last decade. It is, therefore, incumbent upon all orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons to advance the level of care we provide to the female athlete. This course explores sex-specific considerations in ACL reconstruction (ACLR), emphasizing biological underpinnings, operative decision-making, psychological factors, and long-term outcomes. Large prospective cohorts have demonstrated that female patients do not face higher graft failure or contralateral ACL tear risk, yet consistently report lower Marx activity levels, inferior return-to-sport rates, and modestly worse IKDC scores compared with males up to 10 years postoperatively. These disparities are not explained by graft choice or sport alone, underscoring the influence of psychological readiness, resilience, and tailored rehabilitation. Through integration of cutting-edge evidence and clinical experience, this session will provide surgeons with strategies to optimize outcomes in female ACLR. Attendees will gain a framework for applying sex-specific insights to surgical planning, perioperative care, and long-term athlete support, advancing equity and performance in women's sports medicine.
*Courses included with registration; however advance sign-up is required.
The biceps and labral dysfunction remain enigmas of sports medicine. The treatment of biceps pathology remains widely contested. The root cause remains a mystery and recent studies indicate the posterior labrum may be the site of most of the clinically significant pathoanatomy. The purpose of this case-based instructional lecture is to provide insight and discussion into the controversies surrounding biceps and labral pathology in the athlete and active individual. This course will explore normal and pathologic appearances of the glenoid labrum and the biceps-labral complex while developing a foundational understanding of the pathomechanics that lead to pathoanatomy.
For registration and meeting agenda please visit AASPT website- https://www.sportspt.org/2026-aaspt-annual-meeting
This IC will involve brief case presentations and dedicated time to discuss important factors related to the management of complex meniscal pathology and the impact on outcomes and return to play. Attendees will be actively engaged with the faculty to share personal experiences and bring questions from their own cases. Those in attendance will leave with key take home points and techniques that they can implement into their practice immediately to help optimize outcomes following meniscus repair in their patients.
Despite significant advances in surgical technique, rotator cuff repair healing rates have remained stubbornly inconsistent. Persistent non-healing continues to challenge even the most experienced shoulder surgeons, prompting exploration of biologic, mechanical, and peri-operative strategies to optimize outcomes. This Instructional Course Lecture provides a practical, evidence-based framework for improving rotator cuff healing. The session begins with peri-operative optimization and modifiable risk factors before transitioning to a series of focused lectures on biologic and mechanical augmentation strategies. Faculty will present data and real-world experience with bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), enthesis and patch augmentation, microfragmented lipoaspirate tissue, and subacromial bursa reimplantation. The course concludes with a moderated interactive discussion to synthesize lessons learned and help attendees identify which strategies can be realistically integrated into their clinical practice today.
Contact sports like football, hockey, rugby and lacrosse can result in significant and unusual injuries that can be challenging to manage for any team physician. In this case based ICL, we will focus on the contact sport athlete and examine injury patterns, treatment strategies and return to play decisions in these athletes. A variety of cases from simple to complex will be presented and discussed in a collaborative fashion. We will explore topics like multi-ligamentous knee injuries, elbow dislocations, and recurrent shoulder instability. We will focus on in-season injuries, with on-field management of the injuries, surgical repair if indicated, and return to play parameters. Faculty will each present a challenging case from their own practice to a panel of experts for discussion. We will rotate the panel to ensure a wide variety of opinions and approaches. Cases will be presented in a rapid-fire format to maximize the number and diversity of cases that will be covered and will include athletes from all levels of play. This course will be highly interactive and engaging with ample time for discussion among faculty and participants. Audience participation will be critical, and attendees are encouraged to bring their own cases for discussion.
This ICL will cover the breadth of UCL injuries in baseball players including diagnosis, current imaging strategies (FEVER MRI, stress US, etc), and treatment options. We will discuss UCL repair as well as the up and coming hybrid technique. We will discuss the most up to date outcomes as well as our accelerated and standard length return to throwing programs. Finally, we will discuss the pitch smart guidelines as well as some modifications that are coming.
This ICL is a case-based approach to understanding the basic techniques and tools used to do osteotomies around the knee joint. Osteotomies are more and more used to augment joint restorative procedures from simple angular corrections to reduction in contact forces and major alignment correction in the patellofemorla and tibiofemoral joint. This course will address the more common high tibial osteotomy, as well as distal femorla osteotomies, tibial tubercle osteotomies and slope correcting osteotomies around the knee. It will be structured from simple to complex deformity correction based upon increasingly difficult case examples. Audience participation is encouraged and questions will be posed from the podium. This course will touch on indications and outcomes but is predominantly focused on technical aspects, different approaches and tools and intra-operative and management tools and tricks. There will be a brief 5-7 min introductory lecture for every major osteotomy type followed by a simple case example of the respective osteotomy. Then we will start showing simple to complex cases and discuss treatment approaches, techniques, issues of concern and management aspects after the surgery, including rehab and pain management aspects.
This course will present the most recent innovations in the treatment of bone loss in anterior shoulder instability. Our panel will deliver a truthful account as to why certain procedures fail, especially in the contact athlete. We will elaborate on creative means by which anterior instability may be addressed artrhoscopically. Thought leaders and innovators in the arthroscopic Latarjet will describe the latest iteration of technique as well as convey surgical pearls. Tips on developing mastery of open Latarjet will be provided as well. FInally, 'remplissage plus' including artrhoscopic 'bridge technique' will be explained in detail.
MPFL reconstruction continues to become increasingly popular in the treatment of patellar instability. Reported complication rates are up to 25%, of which almost half have been due to technical error. We review the common complications encountered during and after MPFL reconstruction, TTO, and other patellofemoral procedures. We discuss how to assess, address, and prevent such problems with surgical technique pearls. Cases demonstrating examples will be presented to highlight each principle.
The aim of this Instructional Course (IC) is to review a series of challenging sports medicine cases and experiences that each of the panelists encountered in their early practice. Each presenter will review a surgical case or practice management topic, describe the specific challenges they faced, and share what they learned, including strategies they now use to avoid these issues. Cases will span a range of problems in shoulder, elbow, and knee sports surgery. The session will cover intraoperative technical challenges, surgical indications, and management of difficult postoperative patients. Moderators will facilitate discussion, ask probing questions, and encourage audience participation during a Q&A session. The intended audience includes trainees (residents and fellows) and early career surgeons, but surgeons at all levels could certainly benefit from this content. Panelists will represent different phases of early practice to provide diverse perspectives and insights. This course aims to deliver valuable educational content, promote networking among early career members, and should be offered as a free IC to encourage attendance at the AOSSM Annual Meeting.
Registration required to attend and receive CME.
Understanding and Decreasing Spin Bias in the Orthopaedic Literature
Spin bias refers to the selective presentation, interpretation, or emphasis of study findings in a way that makes results appear more favorable than the data truly support. In sports medicine-where small sample sizes, subgroup analyses, and return-to-play outcomes are common-spin bias can meaningfully influence clinical decision-making, guideline development, and patient expectations. This talk will review common forms of spin bias in the sports medicine literature, highlight real-world examples, and provide practical strategies for clinicians and researchers to identify and mitigate spin in published studies.
Considerations of Sex and Gender during the Review Process
Sex and gender are becoming increasingly recognized as an important facet of orthopaedic research. This talk addresses the key concepts for reviewers to consider when addressing sex and gender in orthopaedic sports medicine studies, by covering updates on current sex- and gender- specific considerations in research and clinical care.
Learning Objectives-
By participating in this CME activity, the learner will be able to:
Recognize forms of spin bias in the literature.
Use strategies discussed to mitigate spin in articles reviewed.
Identify research that addresses sex- and gender-specific considerations
Make reviewer suggestions to strengthen the presentation of data addressing sex and gender.
The 2026 AOSSM Research Workshop, Bridging Scientific Creativity and Operational Strategy, equips orthopaedic sports medicine researchers with practical tools to turn innovative ideas into impactful research. Through expert-led discussions and real-world examples, participants will learn how to align scientific vision with strategic planning to accelerate high-quality research that advances our field.
*Ticketed Event. Free to attend.