4th European Orthopaedic and Sports Acupuncture Congress

DATES: MAY 28-30, 2027 | LOCATION: BARCELONA, SPAIN

Following the success of our 3rd Congress in Barcelona, we are pleased to announce the dates for the next edition.

Mark your calendars for May 28-30, 2027.

We are delighted to confirm that our three core speakers—Dr. Josh Margolis, Dr. Jenny Nieters, and Dr. Richard Hazel—will all be returning.

After three fantastic editions, the 4th European Orthopaedic and Sports Acupuncture Congress returns to Barcelona from May 28–30, 2027, bringing together practitioners who want to deepen their clinical impact with practical, assessment-led orthopedic and sports acupuncture approaches. This edition places a strong focus on clinically reproducible evaluation, targeted intervention, and integrated treatment frameworks for runners and overhead athletes, emphasizing neuromuscular control, biomechanics, and performance under load.

For this congress, our three distinguished speakers—Dr Richard Hazel, Dr Jenny Nieters, and Dr Josh Margolis—will each deliver a full one-day intensive that you can immediately translate into your clinical work with recreational, competitive, and elite athletes. Expect a mix of lecture, structured assessment frameworks, live treatment demonstrations, and plenty of hands-on practice designed for experienced orthopedic and sports-focused acupuncturists.

The speakers and topics

Dr Richard Hazel will teach:
“Decode the Kinetic Chain: Mastering the Overhead Athlete”

Stop chasing pain and start treating the pattern: this intensive one-day workshop bridges Janda’s functional neurology with sports acupuncture to address the full kinetic chain of the overhead athlete. You will learn to dismantle Upper Crossed Syndrome, restore scapulothoracic and glenohumeral rhythm, and tap into the biomechanics of the “Whip” to unlock hidden power in pitchers, hitters, and other overhead players. Move beyond local points to global, pattern-focused treatment strategies that boost speed, resilience, and career longevity—and position yourself as the go-to provider for high-demand overhead athletes.

Dr Jenny Nieters will teach:
“The Resilient Runner: Assessment and Treatment of Common Running Injuries”

Knee pain remains one of the most common reasons runners seek care, yet it is often driven by “missing links” between hip stability and foot mechanics. In this one-day course, you will learn to assess and treat the most frequent running-related knee conditions with an integrated, evidence-informed approach that includes trigger point dry needling, neurofunctional acupuncture, and manual therapy. The day will cover clinical assessment, biomechanical drivers, and practical protocols you can apply immediately, helping you build a structured system for working with both competitive and recreational runners.

Dr Josh Margolis will teach:
“Criss Cross Applesauce: Janda’s Crossed Syndromes, A Pragmatic Approach”

Learn to recognize and confidently treat Vladimir Janda’s Upper and Lower Crossed Syndromes with a clear, assessment-first model you can use on Monday morning. This course walks you through simple, reproducible screens to identify key muscle imbalance patterns and movement compensations underlying your patients’ chief complaints, whether they present with spinal pain, shoulder issues, or hip dysfunction. You will move beyond motor and trigger points into global cutaneous acupuncture strategies for the core, shoulder, and hip girdles, paired with practical osteopathic manual techniques to normalize tone, restore mobility, and lock in more efficient movement patterns.

Who this congress is for

This congress is designed for qualified practitioners focusing on acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain, orthopedics, and sports performance, who want reliable, measurable outcomes with athletic and highly active populations. Workshops assume a solid foundation in anatomy, palpation, and basic needling skills so that time can be devoted to higher-level assessment, reasoning, and hands-on application.

Over three days, you will gain exposure to diverse yet complementary frameworks for treating runners, overhead athletes, and patients with complex postural and movement-based complaints. The format includes lectures, treatment demonstrations, and extensive guided practice to ensure you leave with practical tools rather than just theory.

To preserve teaching quality and individualized supervision, attendance is limited to approximately 40 participants. As in previous years, we also plan an informal evening gathering to connect, relax, and share clinical insights in a friendly atmosphere.

Seminar dates, time & location

28th – 30th May 2027, Barcelona, Spain.
Teaching hours are 10:00–18:00 on all three days; the exact venue address will be communicated directly after confirmed sign-up.

Seminar cost

• Price: 650 Euros until January 28, 2027

• Price: 700 Euros after January 28, 2027

Places are limited, so early registration is strongly recommended to secure your spot.

So who is this congress for? 

This congress is exclusively for qualified practitioners focused on treating acute or chronic pain and working with professional or amateur athletes aiming to boost performance, achieve reliable, measurable results, and experience effective pain relief. Workshops will assume a foundational knowledge of anatomy, ensuring participants can fully engage in the advanced content presented.

This three-day congress will be packed with valuable information, featuring lectures, treatment demonstrations, and ample hands-on practice. To ensure an optimal learning experience, we are limiting attendance to a maximum of 45 participants.

Note: The congress will only proceed if we reach at least 30 confirmed sign-ups by three months before the event. Anyone interested is encouraged to register as soon as possible to secure their spot and to help make this congress a reality.

The workshops will include lectures, treatment demonstrations, and of course a lot of hands-on practice.

About the speakers

Dr. Jenny Nieters specializes in sports medicine, orthopedic injuries and athletic performance. In addition to her private clinical practice, she is a team acupuncturist for the San Francisco 49ers and the Saint Mary’s College Men’s Rugby teams. She teaches continuing education courses for Licensed Acupuncturists privately and was part of the Acupuncture Sports Medicine Apprentice Program, developed by Whitfield Reaves. She works with professional and Olympic athletes including MLB, NFL, rugby, NBA, WWE and tennis.
She also served as event acupuncturist for international rugby tournaments, including the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, the Silicon Valley Sevens and the Las Vegas Sevens. She traveled with the Samoan Sevens team to support their efforts at the Paris Sevens tournament. She also the acupuncturist for Tight End University, and event for NFL tight ends.

Dr. Joshua Margolis is a seasoned practitioner with a wealth of experience in manual medicine, bodywork, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine. Since 1995, he has dedicated himself to these healing arts, continually expanding his knowledge and skills. From 2005 to 2009, Joshua served as a faculty member at The Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences and The Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College, where he imparted his expertise in anatomy, orthopedic acupuncture, advanced channel theory, and pain management. Currently, he shares his wealth of knowledge as a staff member at The Osteopathic College of Ontario and as a respected instructor of doctoral level orthopedic courses at several esteemed acupuncture colleges in the Bay Area.

Dr. Richard Hazel, DAc, is a Doctor of Acupuncture and New York State Licensed Acupuncturist who earned both his Master of Science in Acupuncture – Orthopedic & Sports Medicine and his doctorate at Pacific College of Health and Science in New York. His work centres on what he calls Functional Acupuncture: a modern, neuromuscular-science-based approach that combines motor point electro-acupuncture, trigger point release and the assessment of dysfunctional movement patterns, drawing on the work of Vladimir Janda, Karel Lewit, Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. C. Chan Gunn. Rather than chasing local pain, the goal is to correct faulty movement patterns, restore muscle length and reset true neuromuscular function.

Richard runs a private practice in Buffalo, NY, focusing on chronic pain, sports injuries and performance, and serves as acupuncturist for the University at Buffalo (UB) Athletics. He teaches Functional Acupuncture to practitioners around the world through live seminars and his online courses, and he hosts the popular Acupuncture Outsider Podcast, which has listeners all over the world and covers orthopedic and sports acupuncture, motor and trigger points, dry needling and practical clinical cases.

Seminar Dates, Time & Location

28th – 30th May 2027, Barcelona

The address where the seminar will take place is: 

Barcelona, SPAIN (details will be communicated directly after confirmed sign up).

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