Not every meeting belongs on your calendar. These are the orthopaedic events that do in 2026.
Below is a curated look at the orthopaedic events worth paying attention to in 2026, based on clinical relevance and educational value. While not an exhaustive list, this selection reflects where orthopaedics is headed and where meaningful professional exchange continues to happen, without requiring unnecessary time away from practice.
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1. Big Sky Sports Medicine Conference
📍 Big Sky, Montana, USA
🗓 January 11–15, 2026
This long-standing winter conference blends orthopaedic sports medicine, rehabilitation, and performance care in a multidisciplinary setting. Programming typically includes injury prevention, surgical decision-making, concussion management, and return-to-play considerations, making it relevant for surgeons treating athletes at all levels.
2. American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Winter Meeting
📍 Napa, California, USA
🗓 January 22–24, 2026
Designed for foot and ankle specialists, this meeting emphasizes surgical techniques, complication management, and evolving standards of care. Sessions often focus on case-based learning and outcomes, appealing to surgeons seeking practical insights rather than broad overviews.
3. Global Knee Summit
📍 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
🗓 January 22–24, 2026
🔗 https://globalkneesummit.com
This focused summit centers on cartilage repair, biologics, and joint preservation strategies. It attracts surgeons interested in alternatives to arthroplasty and advances in early intervention for knee pathology.
4. UBC Whistler Orthopaedic Summit
📍 Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
🗓 January 29–31, 2026
A well-established regional meeting offering broad orthopaedic coverage, including joint reconstruction, trauma, and sports medicine. Its concentrated format and smaller scale encourage meaningful discussion and practical knowledge exchange.
5. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting
📍 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
🗓 March 2–6, 2026
AAOS remains a central gathering point for broad orthopaedic education and field-wide updates that influence daily practice. Despite its size, the meeting continues to serve as a reference point for evolving standards, guidance, and professional priorities across subspecialties.
6. 2026 OTA Specialty Day
📍 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
🗓 March 6, 2026
The OTA Specialty Day is a focused trauma education program held in conjunction with the AAOS Annual Meeting in New Orleans. It highlights current research, evidence-based approaches, and evolving techniques in orthopaedic trauma, with content relevant to both trauma specialists and general orthopaedic surgeons who take call.
7. The 25th European Congress of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
📍 Kraków, Poland
🗓 March 23–26, 2026
Although multidisciplinary, this congress offers substantial content on musculoskeletal rehabilitation, post-surgical recovery, and functional outcomes. It is particularly relevant for surgeons interested in optimizing long-term patient recovery and interdisciplinary care pathways.
8. Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Annual Meeting
📍 Charlotte, North Carolina
🗓 March 27–31, 2026
ORS serves as a leading forum for translational musculoskeletal research. While research-focused, the meeting is valuable for surgeons interested in how emerging science may influence future clinical practice, implant design, and biologic therapies.
9. World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO-IOF-ESCEO)
📍 Prague, Czech Republic
🗓 April 16–19, 2026
🔗 https://www.wco-iof-esceo.org
This international congress focuses on musculoskeletal disease with an emphasis on bone and joint health across patient populations. Orthopaedic surgeons attending gain perspective on broader clinical trends and how medical management and surgical decision-making intersect.
10. POSNA 2026 Annual Meeting
📍 Orlando, Florida, USA
🗓 May 6–8, 2026
The Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) Annual Meeting brings together pediatric orthopaedic surgeons and clinicians focused on musculoskeletal conditions in children and adolescents. Attendees can expect updates on clinical practice, surgical techniques, evidence-based care pathways, and emerging research relevant to pediatric orthopaedic care.
11. ESSKA Congress 2026
📍 Prague, Czech Republic
🗓 May 20–22, 2026
ESSKA is a major European meeting that centers on orthopaedic sports medicine and knee-focused care. The congress is known for pairing high-level research with practical surgical content relevant to both athletic and degenerative patient populations.
12. Global Spine Congress
📍 Istanbul, Turkey
🗓 May 27–30, 2026
🔗 https://globalspinecongress.org
The Global Spine Congress brings together an international community focused on the full spectrum of spine care and evolving treatment approaches. The meeting attracts orthopaedic surgeons and multidisciplinary specialists who want insight into how spine care is being approached across different regions and practice settings.
13. AOSSM Annual Meeting
📍 Seattle, Washington, USA
🗓 July 8–11, 2026
This meeting focuses on orthopaedic sports medicine, with content covering surgical techniques, rehabilitation, injury prevention, and athlete care. It continues to be highly relevant for surgeons treating active populations.
14. European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) 34th Annual Meeting
📍 Madrid, Spain
🗓 September 23–25, 2026
The European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) Annual Meeting brings together clinicians, researchers, translational investigators, and surgeons from across the musculoskeletal sciences. The meeting focuses on sharing cutting-edge research that bridges laboratory discovery with clinical practice — promoting innovation that can improve patient outcomes and inform the next generation of orthopaedic care.
15. SICOT Orthopaedic World Congress
📍 Kyoto, Japan
🗓 September 29 – October 1 2026
🔗 https://www.sicot-congress.org
SICOT’s global congress offers broad orthopaedic programming with a strong international perspective. The meeting provides insight into how orthopaedic care is practiced and taught in different parts of the world, with emphasis on shared challenges and evolving approaches.
16. North American Spine Society (NASS) Annual Meeting
📍 San Antonio, Texas, USA
🗓 October 14–17
The NASS Annual Meeting remains a key forum for spine-focused education that influences clinical decision-making and professional standards. Surgeons attend to engage with current research and discussion that shapes how spine care is delivered and evaluated across North America.
17. ISAKOS Knee Arthroplasty Forum
📍 Brussels, Belgium
🗓 October 15–16, 2026
This focused international forum is dedicated to advancing discussion and education around knee arthroplasty in a highly specialized setting. The meeting brings together surgeons interested in refining operative approaches and understanding how evolving implant choices are shaping clinical practice.
18. American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) Annual Meeting
📍 Dallas, Texas, USA
🗓 November 5–8, 2026
AAHKS continues to play a central role in conversations shaping contemporary hip and knee arthroplasty practice. The meeting is particularly relevant for joint reconstruction surgeons as expectations around how care is delivered continue to evolve.
19. AO Davos Courses
📍 Davos, Switzerland
🗓 November 29 – December 11, 2026
AO Davos offers immersive orthopaedic education in an intensive, international setting. The program emphasizes hands-on learning and global exchange for surgeons seeking sustained engagement in advanced orthopaedic practice.
20. Orthopaedic Summit: Evolving Techniques (OSET®)
📍 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
🗓 December 2–5, 2026
OSET delivers focused orthopaedic education in a conference format designed to support practical learning and professional exchange. The meeting offers a broad view of current procedural approaches without the scale or structure of traditional academy gatherings.
