By the beginning of April 2020 it was clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting orthopedic companies hard. 

Canaccord Genuity analyst Kyle Rose surveyed orthopedic/spine surgeons to assess the impact on treatment patterns and practice viability. As expected, most of the 50 respondents (60%) said their organizations were defering or postponing all procedures, and about a third of respondents indicated that 90% of their entire practice is deferrable. On average, the survey suggests a 58% decline in patient volumes in March and an anticipated 77% average decline in April, Rose noted in his report.

While the procedure volume decline was the most obvious way the pandemic hurt orthopedic device makers, we also saw a signifiant drop in capital expenditure spending from hospitals, meaning fewer sales of things ilke surgical robotics and navigations systems, which has been an area of focus for orthopedic and spine companies in recent years.