Friday, 4th September Sydney Spinal Symposium 2026

Conference Chair: Prof Ashish Diwan

Keynote Speaker: Dr Lana Tikhomirov

• Clinical Decision-Making in the Age of AI: Insights from Cognitive Science and Human Factors - Lana Tikhomirov
• Is More Exercise Better? A Dose-Response Network Meta-Analysis of 239 Randomised Trials in Chronic Low Back Pain - Nitin Kumar Arora
• Barriers and enablers to running in adults with chronic low back pain: a mixed methods study from the ASTEROID randomised controlled trial - Christopher Neason

Keynote Speaker: Ryan Quarrington

• Seeing the spine: Translating AI-assisted biomechanical insights into tools for spinal injury prevention and care - Ryan D Quarrington
• A tissue engineering framework for biomimetic artificial spinal cords - Nicholas Cunha
• Effect of sagittal alignment on spinal cord biomechanics in the stenotic cervical spine during neck flexion and extension - Karthik Banurekha Devaraj

• One-stage revision of TLIF non-union using 3D printed titanium custom made implants; a case series - William Parr
• Radiographic outcomes of 3d printed titanium patient specific cervical corpectomy devices; a case series. - William Parr
• Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Clinical Translation Opportunities for Cause of Pain Detection and Potentially Early Diagnoses - Suhani SS Sharma
• The Natural History of Isthmic Spondylolisthesis: A Scoping Review - Varman Gunasaegaram
• What do the general public believe about back pain? A scoping review of population-based studies - Jeremy Chang
• Pharmacological treatments for neck pain and whiplash disorders: a systematic review - Zhiwei Yang
• When Back Pain Meets Bacteria: Evaluating the use of antibiotic therapy for chronic low back pain with Modic changes - Abdulaziz AA Albhlal
• Stakeholder perceptions of the VIrtual Physiotherapist-led Evaluation of low back pain Referrals to spine surgeons (VIPER) model of care: a qualitative study - Tarcisio F de Campos
• SAGE (safer analgesia): a protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce the use of high-risk medicines in people with chronic back and/or neck pain - Christina Abdel Shaheed
• SONIC: Sling Or No sling In Conservative management of patients presenting to the emergency department with first-time anterior shoulder dislocation: a randomised controlled trial protocol. - Adam de Gruchy
• Safe and effective medical management of pain for people with rheumatoid arthritis: current evidence, patient perspectives, and person-centred deprescribing - Lisa Vizza
• A pragmatic, two-arm, parallel randomised controlled trial comparing a virtual care referral pathway with usual paramedic care for back pain in ambulance service: the RAMBO trial protocol - Simon Vella
• Adapting the I-WOTCH opioid reduction trial to Australia: a qualitative study   - Meng Lyu
• Effectiveness of the Virtual or In-person Physiotherapist-led Evaluation of Referrals to spine surgeons (VIPER) model of care: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial - Andrew R Gamble
• Co-Design of the Virtual or In-person Physiotherapist-led Evaluation of Referrals to spine surgeons (VIPER) model of care - Andrew R Gamble
• Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Conventional Radiofrequency Ablation for Chronic Sacroiliac Joint Pain: A Retrospective Cohort Study - Louis Trisley
• Effectiveness of strategies for implementing guideline-concordant care in low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials - Siya Zhao
• Barriers and enablers to implementing opioid deprescribing guideline recommendations: a qualitative analysis of primary care physicians’ perspectives using the Theoretical Domains Framework   - Siya Zhao
• Efficacy and harms of opioid analgesics in older adults with osteoarthritis: Meta-analysis - Lisa Vizza
• Physiotherapist-led care in the emergency department for musculoskeletal conditions: a randomised controlled trial with economic evaluation (RESHAP-ED) - Ponsuge Chathurani Sigera
• Emergency Musculoskeletal Care research database and clinical dashboard - Qiuzhe Chen
• Assessing Feasibility of the MYNAH CQR: Participant Perspectives on Registry Engagement - Nashwa Najib
• Audit of the MYelopathy NAtural History (MYNAH) Registry: Clinical and MRI Features of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy - Takeru Akabane
• Update from the MYNAH Registry: A comparison of long-term trajectories for operated and unoperated individuals with degenerative cervical myelopathy - Ryan M Dorrian
• Development of the Chinese Clinical Practice Guideline for Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome - Jun Zou
• Operative Boundaries For Annular Fibrosus Suture - Jun Zou
• Paraspinal Muscle Degeneration After Minimally Invasive Anterior, Lateral, and Anterior to Psoas Lumbar Interbody Fusions: A comparison of pre and post-operative MRIs - Swairatwa Roy
• Paraspinal Muscle Degeneration After Percutaneous vs Open Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LIF): A Narrative Review of MRI-based Evidence - Swairatwa Roy
• Multi-level Uniportal Endoscopic Posterior Cervical Decompression for Cervical Radiculopathy: A Retrospective Multicentre Case Series - Supreeth Bharadwaj
• Endoscopic Decortication of the Sacroiliac Joint as Augmentation to Minimally Invasive Fusion – Technical Note and Clinical Series - Hamidullah Salimi
• Navigating the Learning Curve in Uni-portal Endoscopic Spinal Surgery: Overcoming Complications and Strategies for Success - Rakshay Kaul
• Comparative Analysis of Procedural Outcomes in Individuals Receiving Radiofrequency Ablation With or Without Platelet-Rich Plasma   - Jaskaran Singh

Keynote Speaker: Dr Pramod Nair

• AI for drug discovery to disrupt spinal disorders - Pramod Nair
• Multimodal Prehabilitation for Older Adults Undergoing Spinal Fusion - Xiaolong Chen
• Investigation of the Effect of Foramen Dimension on Dorsal Root Ganglion Irritation Following Transforaminal Endoscopic Procedures - Gayani Petersingham

Keynote Speaker: Lucie Marsh-Smith

• A Digital Mindset Approach to Developing a Clinical Spine Registry in Public Healthcare - Lucie Marsh-Smith
• Implementation of A Regional Satellite Spinal Service: Improving Patient Care and Green Health Practices.   - Adam de Gruchy

• MYNAH Registry Five Years On - Nashwa Najib

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Arnold Wong

• Beyond Physical Discomfort: The Multidimensional Impact of Low Back Pain in Older Adults - Arnold Wong
• Effectiveness of a virtual hospital model of care for low back pain (Back@Home) - Ponsuge Chathurani Sigera
• What are the current recommendations of primary care guidelines for low back pain and how have they changed over the last 30 years? - Crystian Bitencourt Oliveira
• Validation of subject specific cervical spine finite element models using experimental bone strain data - Ryan D Quarrington
• Cardiovascular Imbalances and Risk Characterisation Using Integrated Technologies following Spinal Cord Injury (CIRCUIT Study) - Ryan M Dorrian
• Intraoperative delivery of warm humidified air to the surgical site improves physiological conditions and healing of open spine surgery wounds  - Xiaoxin Xie
• Development and acceptability of a patient decision aid for people with degenerative cervical myelopathy: an international mixed-methods study - Andrew R Gamble
• Behavioural nudges to reduce low-value care for low back pain in the emergency department (NUDG-ED): a 2 × 2 factorial, pragmatic cluster randomized trial - Sweekriti Sharma
• Short-Term Outcomes of Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation for Chronic Lumbar Pain: A Prospective Study of 55 Patients Using Multidimensional Patient-Reported Measures - Wentian Li
• Interventions for chronic pain after lumbar spine surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Giovanni E Ferreira
• Evaluation of Sagittal spinopelvic parameters and clinical outcomes Following Psoas-Traversing and Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion Techniques - Hamidullah Salimi

Keynote Speaker: Miranda Shaw

• Using a virtual hospital model to manage more patients in the community and support system capacity - Miranda J Shaw
• Investigation of heterogeneous treatment effects of oxycodone in acute back and neck pain: an individualised treatment effect approach - Hanan McLachlan
• Smoking and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: From Vascular Injury to Immune-Mediated Nucleus Pulposus Reprogramming - Ji Tu