Canadian Association of Orthopaedic Medicine

40th Annual CAOM Conference Highlights

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:23:07 GMT

Forty Years Strong: Highlights from CAOM’s 40th Annual Conference

From September 17 to 19, 2026, the Canadian Association of Orthopaedic Medicine marked a milestone: its 40th Annual Conference, held at the Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel in Toronto. The conference took place during the second weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival, and the city’s energy was matched inside the meeting rooms. Presenters travelled from across North America and from as far away as France, and the result was one of the most wide-ranging and well-received programs in the Association’s history.

Four decades ago, a small group of Canadian clinicians came together because they believed there was a better way to help patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. This year’s conference was a reminder of how far that idea has travelled and how much it continues to grow.

Preconference workshops: hands-on learning

The conference opened on Thursday, September 17 with three practical preconference workshops. Drs. Zuzana Triska, Jonathan Chow, Adrian Gretton, and Erik Howarth led a full-day workshop on palpation-guided prolotherapy for common peripheral and SI joint injuries, taking participants joint by joint through anatomy, surface anatomy, clinical findings, and injection targets, with ample time for hands-on practice.

In the Barclay Room, Drs. Jannice Bowler, Francois Louw, Rowan Paul, Rodica Janz, Erik Ouellette, and Sid Bhattacharyya facilitated a Level 1 beginner course in ultrasound-guided nerve blocks and hydrodissection, focusing on common entrapment sites and the sono-anatomy of peripheral nerves. In the afternoon, the Level 2 advanced course moved into small-group learning stations covering the cervical region, upper and lower limbs, gluteal region, groin and back, and plane blocks.

Day One: from mechanisms to new frontiers

Dr. Aly Lakhani, Chairman and President of CAOM, welcomed delegates on Friday morning before Dr. Adrian Gretton opened the scientific program with a fresh look at low back pain through the lens of kinetic chains and biotensegrity. Dr. Rowan Paul followed with a session on hydrodissection with orthobiologics, and Dr. Aeneas Janze offered a critical 2026 perspective on how dextrose prolotherapy works, and how it doesn’t.

After the morning break, Dr. Keith Weber explored the use of injections to both diagnose and treat chronic pain, Dr. Steven Karageanes, President of the American Academy of Orthopedic Medicine, discussed muscle testing for perineural hydrodissection, and Dr. Jannice Bowler examined injectable polyacrylamide hydrogel and near-infrared light as tools in the pain toolbox.

The afternoon keynote from Dr. Hance Clarke of Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto surveyed what is hot and emerging in Canadian pain care and research, including personalized care, AI-supported tools, and new pharmacologic options on the horizon. Neurologist Dr. Alexander Melinyshyn then brought modern headache medicine to the orthopaedic clinician, and Dr. Edwin Lee reviewed the evidence on the peptide BPC-157 for musculoskeletal injuries. The day closed on a memorable note, as Master Dao Shi, a 35th-generation Shaolin disciple, led delegates through the ancient art of applied Qigong for healing. Friday concluded with a cocktail reception among our exhibitors.

Day Two: the human side of pain medicine

Saturday’s morning plenaries turned toward the clinician-patient relationship. Dr. Ravi Dhanoa shared practical communication strategies for building rapport and reducing risk, Dr. David Frost of the University of Toronto reflected on uncertainty and ambiguity in medical practice, and Dr. Amanda Peticca-Harris of Grenoble École de Management in France explored the work of hoping in clinical care.

Delegates then chose from two rounds of breakout sessions: Dr. Gordon Ko on foundations and risk optimization in regenerative medicine; Dr. Keith Weber on perineural injection treatment for migraine, headache, cervicalgia, and trigeminal neuralgia; Dr. Steven Karageanes on whiplash-associated disorder from a regenerative medicine lens; Drs. Zuzana Triska and Jon Chow on a clinical approach to regenerative injections; and Dr. Gretchen Andrews on simple and safe manual medicine techniques for the neck and thoracic spine.

The afternoon plenaries brought the program to a powerful close. Dr. Sid Bhattacharyya spoke about recognizing and managing hypermobility spectrum disorders in the “bendy” pain patient, Dr. Tyler Maltman presented on the diagnosis and management of fibromyalgia along with emerging neuroplastic approaches, and Julia Cardy shared her lived experience of severe chronic migraine and her more recent treatment with dextrose injections, a moving reminder of the patients at the centre of everything we do.

Celebrating a founder

The conference concluded with a Celebratory Dinner in the Willard Room, where CAOM presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to founding member Dr. Jean-Paul Ouellette. The award was accepted on his behalf by his son, Dr. Érik Ouellette, a member of the CAOM Board of Directors. It was a fitting way to mark the Association’s 40th conference. [ Read the full story of Dr. Ouellette’s remarkable career here. ]

Thank you to our outgoing board members

CAOM runs on the volunteer efforts of its Board of Directors. This year we said farewell to three outgoing board members: Dr. Nico Bisson, Dr. Jannice Bowler, and Dr. Alexandra Dubé. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. The Association is stronger because of your service.

Conference Passport winners

Congratulations to the winners of our gift card draw, selected from the completed exhibitor passports: Dr. Sara Behrouz, Dr. Darren Barber, and Dr. Paul Missouna. Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit our exhibitors.

With gratitude

A conference of this calibre is only possible through the generosity and hard work of many people.

To our sponsors and exhibitors, thank you for your support, which made this conference possible: AbbVie, Arthrosamid by Contura, Canadian Peptide Research Society, CCE Medical Equipment (Samsung), Crucial Pins, Esaote, Formula One Labs and Pharmacy, FUJIFILM Sonosite, GE HealthCare, InflaFlex, MDBiologix, OMA Insurance, Pendopharm, Platinum Art, West Coast Injection Training, and York Downs Chemists.

To our presenters, thank you for sharing your expertise, your research, and your experience so generously. Many of you travelled a long way to be with us, and your contributions made this program exceptional.

To our preconference and breakout facilitators, thank you for the hours of preparation and hands-on teaching that make CAOM’s practical workshops so valued by our members.

And a very special thank you to Sylvia Vespa of Girasole Events, CAOM’s event and operations manager, whose careful planning and tireless work behind the scenes made every part of this conference run smoothly.

Looking ahead

The learning doesn’t stop here. Mark your calendar for CAOM’s Regenerative Musculoskeletal Injection Cadaver Workshop in Calgary this coming April, offering both periphery and spine tracks. If you’ve been building your regenerative injection skills, consider pursuing CROMIC certification; full requirements are available under the Education tab at caom.ca. And stay connected between conferences by following CAOM on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Toronto. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel in Toronto for the 41st Annual Conference, September 16 to 18, 2027.

CAOM Honours Founding Member Dr. Jean-Paul Ouellette with Lifetime Achievement Award

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:23:07 GMT

On September 19, 2026, the Canadian Association of Orthopaedic Medicine presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Jean-Paul Ouellette in recognition of his distinguished service to orthopaedic medicine in Canada. The award was presented at the closing banquet of CAOM’s 40th Annual Conference by Dr. Aly Lakhani, Chairman and President of CAOM. Dr. Ouellette was unable to attend, and the award was accepted on his behalf by his son, Dr. Érik Ouellette, a member of the CAOM Board of Directors.

The timing of the honour was especially fitting. Dr. Ouellette was one of the founding members of the Association, and he helped establish the organization whose work and fellowship members continue to celebrate four decades later.

A career shaped by one question

Dr. Ouellette graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa in 1970. After several years in practice, he became increasingly focused on a problem familiar to every CAOM member: how to better understand and treat patients with persistent and recurrent musculoskeletal pain.

That question shaped the rest of his professional life. In 1977, he began studying orthopaedic medicine, with a particular interest in the work of Dr. James Cyriax. In 1980, he completed a fellowship in Cyriax orthopaedic medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York. From then on, his practice centred on orthopaedic medicine, and he became widely recognized for his expertise in prolotherapy.

A teacher at home and abroad

Dr. Ouellette has never kept his knowledge to himself. Over the course of his career he has been invited to lecture and teach in Canada, the United States, Central America, Europe, and China, and he has contributed to the medical literature on orthopaedic medicine and prolotherapy.

His commitment to teaching has also reached across generations. His son, Dr. Érik Ouellette, followed him into medicine and into the treatment of musculoskeletal pain, and the two had the opportunity to practise alongside one another. Today, Érik carries forward another part of his father’s legacy through his service on the CAOM Board of Directors.

Leaving knowledge behind

Beginning in 1985, Dr. Ouellette, assisted by his wife Louise and their four children, travelled twelve times to Honduras and Nicaragua to provide medical care to people in need. He did more than treat patients during those visits. He taught physicians in Honduras to use prolotherapy themselves, so that patients could continue to benefit long after he had returned home.

In his remarks, Dr. Lakhani described this as medical service at its best: not simply bringing one’s skills somewhere for a few weeks, but leaving knowledge behind.

International recognition

Dr. Ouellette’s contributions have been recognized well beyond Canada. In 2010, the American Association of Orthopedic Medicine presented him with its Award of Excellence for his exceptional contribution to the field.

A legacy we share

As Dr. Lakhani noted, a lifetime achievement award recognizes accomplishments: the patients treated, the physicians taught, the papers written, and the organizations built. In Dr. Ouellette’s case, CAOM members are also direct beneficiaries of something he helped create. Forty conferences later, members still gather to learn from one another, challenge one another, teach the next generation of physicians, and improve the care of patients with musculoskeletal pain.

“Organizations such as ours do not simply appear,” Dr. Lakhani told the audience. “Someone has to have the idea.” Dr. Ouellette was one of those people.

In presenting the award, Dr. Lakhani recognized Dr. Ouellette as an educator, a clinician, a humanitarian, a pioneer of orthopaedic medicine in Canada, and one of the founders of the Association.

The award itself carries its own story of generosity. The hefty plaque, crafted by Chris Knight of Platinum Art from Indian rosewood and hand-hammered silver, was donated to CAOM by Mr. Knight, who was so moved by Dr. Ouellette’s long history of giving that he chose to contribute his work as a gift.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and all members of the Canadian Association of Orthopaedic Medicine, we extend our congratulations, our gratitude, and our warmest wishes to Dr. Jean-Paul Ouellette. Thank you.

Remembering Calgary: The 2026 International Prolotherapy Cadaver Workshop

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 20:29:05 GMT

A once-in-a-lifetime gathering of prolotherapists from around the globe — and the inspiration for what's coming next

Every so often, a room fills up with exactly the right people, and something special happens. That's what took place in Calgary from May 7 to 9, 2026, when clinicians from the Netherlands, Spain, France, the USA, and right here in Canada flew in for three days of hands-on learning at the International Prolotherapy Cadaver Workshop. Orthopaedic surgeons stood shoulder to shoulder with GPs. A rheumatologist compared notes with a sports medicine physician. ER doctors and physiatrists traded techniques with physical medicine specialists. Different countries, different training traditions, one shared goal: sharper hands, deeper knowledge, better outcomes for patients.

Day One: Setting the Foundation

The weekend opened with a day built for calibration — mini-lectures, structured teaching, and hours of guided palpation and marking on anatomical models. It was the kind of unglamorous groundwork that makes everything after it click. By the end of the day, the whole room was speaking the same language of assessment and targeting. Leading the charge were CAOM instructors Drs. Adrian Gretton, Francois Louw, Jannice Bowler, Rodica Janz, and Zuzana Triska, alongside NP Eric Lavoie — a faculty roster with more collective prolotherapy experience than most attendees had seen assembled in one place.

Days Two and Three: Into the Lab

Then came the part everyone had really flown in for: two full days in the anatomy lab, working through peripheral and spinal target structures with real precision. Palpation-based identification, ultrasound-guided technique, and needle-in-hand injection practice — over and over, on cadaveric tissue, until muscle memory started to take over from theory. This is where confidence gets built. Not from watching a slide, but from feeling the structure under your fingers and guiding the needle there yourself, with an instructor at your elbow to correct, encourage, and occasionally say "yes — exactly that."

More Than Technique

Ask anyone who was there and they'll tell you the real magic happened between sessions — over coffee, at dinner, in the hallway debriefs where someone from Spain compared notes with someone from Saskatchewan. Clinicians left Calgary not just with sharper anatomical targeting and more confident hands, but with a renewed sense of belonging to something bigger: a genuinely international community of practitioners committed to prolotherapy done well.

A Special Event — and a New Invitation

The 2026 International Prolotherapy Cadaver Workshop was a one-of-a-kind event, and we're not planning to repeat that exact gathering in 2027. Some things really are once-in-a-lifetime. But the spirit behind it — hands-on learning, expert instruction, and a room full of clinicians pushing each other to get better — is exactly what we're building on for next year.

In April 2027, CAOM is hosting an Injection Workshop open to all interested practitioners — no invitation required. Whether you missed Calgary, heard about it secondhand, or simply want to build your own injection skills in a supportive, hands-on environment, this is your chance. Come learn from experienced instructors, practice with purpose, and connect with colleagues who share your commitment to getting it right for your patients.

Seats fill quickly for these workshops — visit www.caom.ca to learn more and reserve your spot for April 2027.