Southampton professor takes international leadership role in spine care

Professor Lisa Roberts has been named president elect of Eurospine, one of the world’s leading organisations for spine health.

Low back pain is reported to be the single leading cause of disability worldwide.

Over 600 million people are affected around the world. The World Health Organization estimates this could rise to over 800 million people by 2050. This is driven by population growth and ageing.

Professor Roberts is driving research, education and collaboration to improve spine care.

She is a Clinical Professor of Musculoskeletal Health at the University of Southampton. She works clinically as a Consultant Physiotherapist at University Hospital Southampton (UHS).

Global focus on spine care

Most people will experience back pain at least once in their life, and it’s most common between ages of 50 and 55, with women more likely to be affected.

Eurospine was founded in 1998 and now brings together thousands of specialists from across Europe.

Professor Roberts has been a key figure in Eurospine since 2015. As Chair of the Community and Leadership Council, she led a 494% increase in membership.

She also teaches on the Eurospine Diploma in Interprofessional Spine Care and works with Spine20. This advocacy group is linked to the G20 summit and pushes for better spine health policies worldwide.

Through Spine20, Lisa has represented the UK at summits in New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro and most recently Cape Town.

Professor Roberts said: “I am deeply honoured to be elected to the Presidential line of Eurospine and represent the UK, the non-surgical community and women. We have an exciting four years ahead, as we seek to address the ongoing challenge of back pain - the single leading cause of disability worldwide. We aim to build a membership that supports health professionals across the spine pathway, worldwide.”

Improving care through research

Southampton researchers are at the heart of research efforts to improve spine care.

The SupportBack study evaluated whether an online programme could improve self-management compared to usual care. Researchers measured disability and cost-effectiveness over 12 months. They involved people with back pain in the trial design.

Professor Roberts is involved in the development and testing of a training programme to support clinicians in rheumatology clinics with patients from a South Asian background. She is also part of a study exploring couples’ experiences of managing low back pain.

“I would like to see people having greater access to education about back pain, including how to help prevent or lessen the misery that it causes,” she said. “It is important that we focus on ways to support people to stay as active as possible, as this is the real key to long-term spine health.”