Professor Rachelle BuchbinderMBBS (Hons) MSc PhD FRACP FAHMS FAA
Professor and Head, Musculoskeletal Health Unit and Wiser Health Care Group, Monash University, Australia Rachelle Buchbinder AO is a rheumatologist and clinical epidemiologist, NHMRC Investigator Fellow and Professor/Head, Musculoskeletal Health and Wiser Health Care Units, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. She is the Coordinating Editor of Cochrane Musculoskeletal, Back and Neck, cofounded the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence for the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network and Wiser Healthcare, a national collaboration that aims to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment. She led the widely acclaimed 2018 Lancet series on low back pain which reached a huge audience globally and influenced international and national policy. Her 2021 book, 'Hippocrasy, how doctors are betraying their oath', written with orthopaedic surgeon Ian Harris, highlighted society’s overreliance on medicine for a general audience.
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Patrick Wall Plenary Lecture: Eight Years Since the Lancet Series Has Back Pain Practice Changed to be the Right Fit?
The burden of low back pain continues to be a major problem across the world. The 2018 Lancet series outlined the role of overmedicalisation in exacerbating the problem. It identified the global challenge of stopping the use of harmful practices, while ensuring access to effective and affordable care for people with low back pain. It also described various actions that could be taken at an international and national public policy and clinical level to address this challenge including changing the way care for low back pain is delivered and reimbursed. This talk will discuss whether progress has been made in improving back pain practice across different settings, what actions are still needed and some promising, emerging solutions.
Platelet Rich Plasma Treatments For Chronic Pain Conditions - Does This Fit?
Platelet rich plasma injections are widely used to treat tendinopathies such as tennis elbow and osteoarthritis. It is hypothesised that these injections release high concentrations of platelet-derived growth factors, cytokines to stimulate angiogenesis and tissue regeneration to promote healing. High quality evidence to determine whether this translated into improved clinical outcomes lagged behind their enthusiastic adoption. This talk will present a synthesis of the latest evidence and discuss whether or not these data support its continued use.
