2024 was a busy year in orthopaedic research. The nature of orthopaedic care is rapidly shifting, which has brought about immense speculation on where the future of orthopaedics is headed. We have one of the largest networks of orthopaedic professionals in the world – which allows us to derive powerful and unique insights into exactly what the orthopaedic community is finding interesting and what might be a burgeoning topic for the coming year. In this OE Original, we bring you the top hits from 2024, what the ‘explorers’ of orthopaedic research were reading, and our predictions going into 2025!