PainConnect 2026 Recap
PainConnect 2026 was held March 5–8, 2026, in Salt Lake City, Utah, catering to the needs of clinicians from all specialties and general medical practices who treat pain.
Cadaver Lab
Thursday morning’s Cadaver Lab was held at the University of Utah, with the morning session curated for fellows and the afternoon session for attending physicians. The day focused on Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression (MILD), Multifidus Lumbar Restorative Neurostimulation, Basivertebral Nerve Ablation, and Posterior IS Fusion – SI Bone Portfolio: Providing Treatment Options Suited for the Patient.
Workshops
This year’s PainConnect hosted a variety of full-day workshops designed to deepen clinicians’ knowledge of pain management through cutting-edge insights and the latest evidence-based practices. Led by expert faculty in pain medicine, radiology, pharmacology, and neuroscience, the Fundamentals of Pain Workshop blended practicality with immediately applicable clinical takeaways.
The Cancer Pain Workshop was a 2.25-hour deep dive into the latest in cancer pain and epidemiology, device-based therapies, and procedural innovations, designed for clinicians who manage pain in patients with malignancies.
The Emergency Medicine and Acute Pain Workshop offered a full day of practical training, interactive discussions, and hands-on learning covering ultrasound-guided nerve block training, ED-focused pharmacology and protocols, procedural safety and visualization techniques, transitional pain planning, and SUD and chronic pain expertise.
Advanced Practice Providers had the opportunity to enhance their skills through the specially designed APP Workshop, featuring an APP-focused curriculum, expert-led didactics, hands-on learning, guidance on legal and transitional care, a comprehensive ultrasound lab, and an APP-only reception.
Education Highlights
PainConnect 2026 delivered some of the most compelling educational programming in recent memory. Two sessions in particular stood out among attendees. The keynote panel on the future of pain medicine brought together a distinguished group of thought leaders, Drs. Antje Barreveld, Steve Cohen, Julie Pilitsis, Zachary McCormick, David Dickerson, Sara Davin, and Robert Hurley, for a forward-looking conversation about where the field is headed. The session sparked the kind of big-picture thinking that reminds clinicians why their work matters.
A second standout was the panel discussion responding to a recent BMJ article on opioid prescribing, featuring Drs. Sudheer Potru, Jason Busse, Steve Cohen, Lynn Kohan, Nathaniel Schuster, and Jason Friedrich, a candid, evidence-driven exchange that attendees found both challenging and energizing.
PainConnect 2026 member Dr. Ryan D’Souza summed up the experience:
“Both were thoughtful, challenging, educational, and energizing in a way that reminds you why you love pain medicine.”
Innovation Hub
The conference showcased 20 engaging Flash Talks and over 100 poster abstracts. These presentations highlighted research findings, clinical innovations, and practical solutions to real-world challenges in pain medicine. This format provided presenters with the opportunity to share their research, clinical advancements, and problem-solving strategies with attendees on-site.
PainConnect united clinicians, innovators, researchers, students, and industry leaders to advance new ideas in pain care. This year’s Innovation Challenge and Hacking Pain Hackathon highlighted this collaborative spirit, with teams presenting real solutions for pain medicine.
The awardees for the 2026 Innovation Awards are as follows:
For the AAPM Innovation Challenge, the Subhash Jain, MD Award was given to Nalu Bio, the MM Sadipe, MD Award went to FaraMed Tech, and the Physician’s Choice Award was given to Xaia.
In the Hacking Pain Hackathon, 1st place went to Emotional Intelligence, 2nd to Clyra, and 3rd to Endova, while PainTrace was recognized as a finalist.
Networking
PainConnect 2026, AAPM’s 42nd annual meeting, proved once again to be the place that brings the pain medicine community together. PainConnect welcomed clinicians from multidisciplinary pain practices, including nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists, psychologists, and pharmacists, uniting the entire pain management team under one roof.
Dr. Ryan D’Souza captured the spirit of the meeting well:
“At a lunch session, the table where I was seated included a family medicine physician, physical therapist, APP, rheumatologist, psychologist, and neurologist — and I was the only pain medicine physician there. What an amazing thing.”
From the Opening Reception and Resident & Fellows Reception to the Awards & Celebration Gala and Special Interest Group Networking Breakfast, every event was designed with connection in mind, because the relationships built at PainConnect are just as powerful as the science shared. No matter what your specialty or background, PainConnect is your community.
We hope to see you in Orlando next year, March 18-21, 2027! Stay tuned for registration details.
