At the end of June I’m heading to Madrid for the ISMST World Congress (25–27 June) — the big annual meeting for shockwave therapy. Alongside catching up with friends and colleagues from around the world, there’s a packed programme of talks. Here are some of the ones I’m most looking forward to.

Shockwaves and sports

• Shockwaves in sports medicine (keynote) — Ludger Gerdesmeyer
• Managing injuries in in-season athletes — Adam Tenforde
• Medial tibial stress syndrome (“shin splints”) — Santiago Gómez García
• Combining shockwave with ultrasound-guided PRP in athletes — Toru Omodani
• Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (hip pain) — Nick Willems
• Why biologics, energy-based medicine and physiotherapy work well together — Patrick Goh
• Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial — Jacob Katolick

Shockwaves and rehabilitation

• Shockwave as a therapeutic enabler (keynote) — Richard Crevena
• Chronic low back pain — Federico Giordanni
• Understanding myofascial (muscle) pain syndrome — Kwansung Park
• Myofascial applications: evidence and controversies — Hannes Müller-Ehrenberg
• Shoulder adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) — Eduarda Pestana

Bones and joints

• 25 years of shockwave in fracture care — Rainer Mittermayr
• Knee osteoarthritis — Michelle Brunneau
• Avascular osteonecrosis of the foot and ankle — Rob Conenello

The science and what’s next

• Shockwaves as a regenerative tool: self-healing and tissue repair — Cristina D’Agostino
• The biological basis of shockwave therapy — Paul Slezak
• Bridging physics, technology and clinical practice — Cyril Slezak
• An AI-guided system for precision dosing — Vivek Morya
• Presidential guest lecture: shockwave in open-heart surgery — Johannes Holfeld

There’s plenty here that’s relevant to the everyday aches, injuries and stubborn tendon problems I see in clinic. I’ll share a few highlights when I’m back in Edinburgh.