Remembering Calgary: The 2026 International Prolotherapy Cadaver Workshop
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.
