What orthopedics is researching now
The topics gaining the most ground, ranked by the PubDaily Trend Score: new research, stronger evidence, new trials and new guidelines. 291 topics in 22 specialties, updated 18 Oct 2026.
Monthly reportThe fastest-rising topics in medicine: October 2026Read →AI fracture detection
AI that detects fractures on radiographs.
Key point: AI assistance significantly improves clinicians' diagnostic performance in detecting extremity and trunk fractures on radiographs.
Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs
Drugs studied to change the course of osteoarthritis, including GLP-1 drugs.
Key point: Given current data, conventional synthetic or biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are not advised for people living with hand osteoarthritis.
3D-printed and patient-specific implants
3D printing and patient-specific implants in orthopaedics.
Periprosthetic joint infection
Diagnosis and treatment of infection after joint replacement.
Key point: Suppressive antimicrobial therapy for periprosthetic joint infection had pooled reported success rates of 74% after acute DAIR and 70% in chronic cases.
Robotic joint replacement
Robot-assisted knee and hip arthroplasty.
Platelet-rich plasma
PRP injections for osteoarthritis and tendon problems.
See all 12 orthopedics topics
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How the Trend Score works
Four signals
Growth in new papers (35%), growth in randomised trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews (25%), new clinical trials registered (20%), and new guidelines and consensus statements (20%), each over the last 12 months against the 12 before.
A score out of 100
Each signal is ranked against every topic we follow, so a score of 90 means the topic is ahead of about 90% of them. Rising fast: 80 and above. Rising: 55 to 79. Emerging: fewer than 100 papers the year before, too few to rank.
What it does not tell you
More research on a topic is not evidence that a treatment works. Open a topic to read the papers and guidelines themselves. Counts come from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov.