Introduction

The Department of Sports Medicine at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital is a National Clinical Key Specialty, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of sports-related joint injuries of the shoulder, knee, hip, and ankle. Under the leadership of former director Professor Zhao Jinzhong, the department achieved significant milestones and was designated a National Clinical Key Specialty in 2014. It has since become one of the largest clinical diagnosis and treatment centers for sports medicine in China. Currently led by Professor He Yaohua, the department comprises 35 clinical physicians, including 19 senior-level experts. With a bed capacity of over 200, the department conducts approximately 15,000 surgeries annually, accounting for more than 60% of all sports medicine surgeries in Shanghai and ranking among the top in the nation.

In terms of clinical techniques, the department has pioneered more than 30 internationally advanced surgical techniques for complex conditions such as patellar dislocation, knee stiffness, irreparable rotator cuff injuries, and shoulder instability. Innovations such as minimally invasive release for knee stiffness and the ultra-reconstruction theory for single-ligament knee injuries have been featured in internationally authoritative orthopedic references, including Campbell’s Operative Orthopaedics and The Anterior Cruciate Ligament: Reconstruction and Basic Science, solidifying the department’s position in the field of sports medicine.

In academic research, the department has conducted a series of clinical and basic scientific research projects on joint disorders, leading over 20 national projects with research funding exceeding RMB 25 million. The faculty of the department has published more than 200 SCI-indexed papers, many of which have appeared in top journals such as Arthroscopy, American Journal of Sports Medicine, and JBJS. The department has also led the development of two domestic guidelines and one expert consensus. Its outstanding research achievements have earned prestigious awards, including the First Prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award in 2022 and the First Prize of the Shanghai Medical Science and Technology Award in 2018.

In technological innovation, the department has developed China’s first intelligent navigation system for knee ligament reconstruction, high-strength biomimetic artificial ligaments, and a dynamic knee ligament reconstruction system with associated implants. These innovations have been successfully commercialized, resulting in seven registration certificates and six patented technology transfer projects with a total contract value of RMB 7.55 million.

In medical education, the department boasts 3 doctoral supervisors and 7 master’s supervisors. It has nurtured numerous outstanding graduates, including 7 Shanghai Excellent Graduates and 14 university-level Excellent Graduates, with 8 recipients of the National Scholarship. As a teaching and training center for arthroscopy and sports injury, the department has successfully hosted 46 national-level workshops, providing training to over 10,000 participants from 31 provinces in China and several other countries, significantly advancing the field of sports medicine worldwide.

As a National Clinical Key Specialty, the Department of Sports Medicine at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital remains committed to clinical innovation, transformation of scientific research achievements, and high-level talent development, providing world-class diagnostic and treatment services to patients.