What’s New in Sports Medicine 2025

Key findings in sports medicine are highlighted in the new JBJS Guest Editorial What’s New in Sports Medicine. Here, we feature the 5 most impactful studies, as selected by coauthor Cassandra A. Lee, MD. 

Knee

A multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) by the STABILITY Study Group evaluated the impact of lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) as an adjunct to hamstring tendon anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The study included 618 patients with high-risk profiles undergoing either ACLR alone or ALCR with LET. The rates of return to sport at 24 months postoperatively were similar between the groups; however, the rerupture rate was lower in the LET group¹. 

In a systematic review that included 3,191 patients across 56 studies, meniscal root repair was associated with lower rates of conversion to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) compared with nonoperative treatment or meniscectomy. Additionally, a smaller decrease in joint space width and less medial meniscal extrusion were observed in the root repair group compared with the meniscectomy group². 

Shoulder

A double-blinded RCT randomized 128 patients to intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA), saline solution irrigation fluid, epinephrine in irrigation fluid, or epinephrine plus TXA in order to assess the effect on visual clarity during arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Epinephrine was the most effective adjunct for visualization, whereas TXA provided no benefit for visualization³. 

Outcomes after arthroscopic Bankart repair with versus without remplissage for the treatment of Hill-Sachs lesions and subcritical glenoid bone loss were compared in a medium-term follow-up of a multicenter RCT. Bankart repair with remplissage was associated with lower rates of recurrent instability and treatment failure at a mean of 4 years postoperatively. It was also associated with lower rates of treatment failure and revision surgery in high-risk patients and contact sport athletes⁴. 

Perioperative Analgesia

In a double-blinded RCT of 50 patients undergoing elective hip arthroscopy, postoperative opioid consumption was 40% lower among those who received perioperative intravenous dexamethasone in addition to a standardized postoperative pain regimen compared with those who received placebo. The dexamethasone group also had lower rates of pruritus, fatigue, and vomiting postoperatively and less pain on postoperative day 2 than the placebo group⁵. 

What’s New in Sports Medicine is freely available at JBJS.org. 

What’s New by Subspecialty

Each month, JBJS publishes a review of the most pertinent studies from the orthopaedic literature in a select subspecialty. To read the reports, visit the What’s New by Subspecialty collection at JBJS.org. 

Recent OrthoBuzz posts include: What’s New in Hand and Wrist Surgery, What’s New in Pediatric Orthopaedics, and What’s New in Adult Reconstructive Knee Surgery. 

References 

1. Rezansoff A, Firth AD, Bryant DM, Litchfield R, McCormack RG, Heard M, MacDonald PB, Spalding T, Verdonk PCM, Peterson D, Bardana D, Getgood AMJ; STABILITY Study Group. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction plus lateral extra-articular tenodesis has a similar return-to-sport rate to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction alone but a lower failure rate. Arthroscopy. 2024 Feb;40(2):384-396.e1. 
2. Lee DR, Lu Y, Reinholz AK, Till SE, Lamba A, Saris DBF, Camp CL, Krych AJ. Root repair has superior radiological and clinical outcomes than partial meniscectomy and nonoperative treatment in the management of meniscus root tears: a systematic review. Arthroscopy. 2025 Feb;41(2):390-417. 
3. Suter T, McRae S, Zhang Y, MacDonald PB, Woodmass JM, Mutter TC, Wolfe S, Marsh J, Dubberley J, Old J. The effect of intravenous tranexamic acid on visual clarity in arthroscopic shoulder surgery compared to epinephrine and a placebo: a double-blinded, randomized controlled trial. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2024 Mar;33(3):628-39. 
4. Woodmass JM, McRae S, Lapner P, Kamikovski I, Jong B, Old J, Marsh J, Dubberley J, Stranges G, Sasyniuk TM, MacDonald PB. Arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage in anterior shoulder instability results in fewer redislocations than Bankart repair alone at medium-term follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med. 2024 Jul;52(8):2055-62. 
5. Kaiser D, Hoch A, Dimitriou D, Groeber T, Bomberg H, Aguirre JA, Eichenberger U, Zingg PO. Perioperative intravenous dexamethasone significantly reduces postoperative opioid requirement and nausea after unilateral elective hip arthroscopy: a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial. Am J Sports Med. 2024 Apr;52(5):1165-72.