EAST LANSING, Mich. – Two Michigan State University researchers using an innovative approach to study back pain are taking part in a traveling international symposium that features the world's leading experts on spinal control, back pain and rehabilitation.
The tour, with stops across the United States and Canada, is sponsored by the University of Queensland in Australia and focuses on different techniques regarding spinal biomechanics and neuromuscular control.
N. Peter Reeves and Jacek Cholewicki, researchers in Osteopathic Surgical Specialties in MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine, focus on the spine using systems science, a branch of science that crosses disciplines to study complex problems. With a systems approach, it is possible to study complex systems in a way that not only includes their parts but also how the parts interact to affect the entire system.
The pair recently attended an international back pain symposium in Brisbane, Australia, and the tour aims to bring the ideas from that acclaimed meeting to physicians across the world.
The aims of the session are to consider spinal control from different perspectives, discuss the similarities and differences in approaches to managing back pain, consider the implications for rehabilitation and demonstrate contemporary clinical management strategies for pain.
The tour dates for the first leg are: Aug. 22, Miami; Aug. 23, Chicago; Aug. 28, Toronto; and Aug. 29, Montreal. The second leg dates are: Nov. 6, San Francisco; Nov. 7, Seattle; Nov. 13, Denver; and Nov. 14, San Diego.
Full registration costs $275 Australian, or about $240 American. For the first leg of the tour, early bird registration of $225 Australian (or about $200 American) ends July 23; Oct. 8 is the early bird deadline for the second leg. Student registration costs $150 Australian ($130 American).
For more information and to register, contact Renae Jackson at r.jackson2@uq.edu.au.
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.