Hellenic Medical Society and PRONIA host community forum on back pain

On Sunday, May 31, the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia (HMSA), in collaboration with PRONIA, hosted a free community educational event on ‘Understanding Back Pain’, at the New Footscray Hospital.

It was a fantastic example of community engagement and connection with over 70 people in attendance.

On the panel were Dr James Dimou, consultant neurosurgeon, Dr Arete Kouteris, general practitioner, Dr Stephen Fasulakis, interventional radiologist, Debbie Spanos, physiotherapist and Dr Ken Teng, neurosurgical registrar.

The event was emceed by Dr Dean Kotsianis, a junior doctor currently based at Footscray Hospital.

Sylvia Hadjiantoniou, CEO of PRONIA, highlighted “the shared responsibility to create stronger communities” through knowledge, connections and health literacy.

A/Prof Marinis Pirpiris, HMSA president, spoke of the potential of the new hospital to reinvigorate community health engagement in the western suburbs. 

It was an interactive and dynamic panel session, with an introduction of spinal anatomy and common conditions.

This was followed by a series of discussions regarding the assessment and diagnosis of the causes of back pain, as well as conservative methods (including physiotherapy, medical acupuncture), radiological and surgical management of back pain.

There were also demonstrations of the various types of exercises that can be done to prevent back pain from occurring. 

There was strong engagement from the audience with many questions being asked throughout the 40-minute question time. Panellists answered questions one-on-one for a further hour after the event finished. 

Back pain is a very common condition, affecting people from different age groups with different causes.

The strong overarching messaging concluded that the majority of back pain will improve with physiotherapy-based measures without the need for surgical intervention, and that a team approach to management was paramount.

If back pain persists for greater than three weeks, then further medical review is required.

Attendees learned that a simple way to prevent back pain is to engage in regular light exercise, including walking and basic physiotherapy-based exercises.