American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists

04/28/2026

Our friends at the O&P Foundation have launched three new funding opportunities for O&P assistants, pedorthists, and OP&P professionals.

Here's what's available:

💰 Access to Care Scholarships — $5,000 awards to support pre-certification education and training for prospective COAs, CPAs, CPOAs, and CPeds.

🎓 Access to Practice Awards — $2,000 tax-free stipends to help certified professionals attend leading national conferences, including those supported by AAOP.

🏥 OP&P Healthcare Quality Fellowship — $2,000–$5,000 awards for OP&P professionals pursuing credentials or formal training in healthcare quality and process improvement.

Applications are open May 5 – June 2, 2026.

Learn more and apply: https://buff.ly/AVz2YYv

04/28/2026

The Academy encourages members, clinicians, researchers, educators, and patients to support the reinstatement of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP) within the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).

➡️ OPORP provided dedicated funding for O&P outcomes research from FY 2014 through FY 2023, but has not been funded for the past three years.
➡️ During that time, O&P research has been placed under a broader DOD program where highly scored grants have received limited support.
➡️ Restoring OPORP funding to $15 million for FY 2027 would reestablish a dedicated pathway to advance evidence-based care and improve patient outcomes.

A sign-on letter will be sent to Senator Mitch McConnell, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Defense, with a similar letter planned for the House.

Add your name here: https://buff.ly/EA9EpSZ

04/28/2026

Challenging patient encounters are a routine part of clinical practice — but so is getting better at them.

The agenda is now set for the Behavioral Science Unconference, two days of expert-led sessions on communication, behavior change, and interdisciplinary care for O&P professionals, students, and residents.

Attend one day or both! Up to 5.50 CEUs available.

→ See the full agenda and register: https://buff.ly/Dpnaroc

04/27/2026

Short on time but looking to stay current with emerging research? OPKC Microlearning modules deliver focused, clinically relevant insights in ~15 minutes, combining author-led presentations, full posters, and applied scenarios with a knowledge check.

🔗 Explore available courses: https://buff.ly/To4l5dH

04/27/2026

How might reduced brace wear, when paired with structured Schroth exercise, influence curve correction and quality of life in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis? This randomized trial found that part-time bracing combined with intensive Schroth exercise achieved greater improvements in Cobb angle and select patient-reported outcomes compared to full-time bracing alone.

🔗 Read the full report: https://buff.ly/NRDoPmv

04/27/2026

This Thursday! Don’t miss our next Academy TODAY webinar:

➡️ Innovation & Collaboration: In Gait Analysis and Clinical Education

Free for Academy members, this webinar will explore key considerations in gait development and clinical application across pediatric and prosthetic populations.

Register here: https://buff.ly/8IOMtNt

04/24/2026

If you missed it the first time, this one is worth a listen!

In our most recent episode of O&P Clinical Care Insiders: Industry Partners Edition, host Seth O’Brien, CP, FAAOP(D), was joined by Fraser Allan, prosthetist/orthotist at Thuasne, for a closer look at the SpryStep® Agilik™ KAFO and its microprocessor-driven approach to mobility.

They discuss how powered knee flexion and extension can help support key gait mechanics—addressing swing phase challenges, crouch gait, and fatigue—along with important clinical considerations like patient selection, contraindications, and real-world application.

🎧 Catch the full conversation here: https://buff.ly/9l8XrZ0

Sponsored by Thuasne

04/24/2026

How does wrist flexion/extension influence task performance and compensatory movement patterns in transradial prosthesis users? This study, authored in part by Academy member Laura Miller, found that enabling powered wrist flexion reduced some trunk and shoulder compensations toward more normative movement, underscoring the importance of device capability and individualized training.

🔗 Read the full report: https://buff.ly/iLn02LQ

04/23/2026

The Academy's Scientific Societies exist for one reason: to bring O&P professionals together around the specialties they care most about.

Whether your focus is lower limb prosthetics, digital innovation, gait, fabrication sciences, behavioral science, or any of the other seven specialty areas — there's a community built around it. Societies are where members collaborate on research, shape education, contribute to publications, and connect with peers who share their clinical interests.

➡️ And right now there's an added incentive: join or renew by June 30 and receive up to 90 days of additional membership.

If you've been thinking about getting more involved in your specialty, now’s the time!

Learn more about how to join here: https://buff.ly/HS1nd1J

04/23/2026

A reminder that there are several funding programs from the O&P Foundation open now, and a few NEW opportunities opening soon!

Browse all open programs here:

The Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research (The O&P Foundation) is the only national non profit (501c3) dedicated to funding programs to support the future of Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Pedorthics (OP&P).

04/23/2026

Insight on demand! In the Academy’s O&P Knowledge Central, you can now purchase our Academy Think Tank series as a bundle, featuring Academy president Dr. Gerald Stark, PhD, MSEM, CPOL, FAAOP(D), hosting four sessions designed to foster collaborative problem-solving and forward-thinking clinical dialogue.

This bundle includes:
◽ Advancing K2 Prosthetic Care
◽ Integrating Digital Workflows
◽ Leading the Next Generation
◽ Real World Reimbursement in O&P

Learn more and buy here: https://buff.ly/U9ie3Oi

04/22/2026

🎧 New episode alert! 🎧

In O&P Research Insights, listen in as Dr. Steve Gard is joined by Aarti Deshpande, MS, CPO, FAAOP, clinical manager at the University of California San Francisco Orthotic and Prosthetics Center, to discuss her session, “Lessons From Sustained Multidisciplinary Research Collaborations in Global Rehabilitation.”

Drawing on experience across India, the UK, and the United States, Deshpande shares how different healthcare systems shaped her approach to equity and outcome-based care. She unpacks what true multidisciplinary collaboration looks like in practice—bringing together clinicians, researchers, trainees, administrators, and funders around a shared, patient-centered goal.

Find the full episode here: https://buff.ly/nWDo6fR