Most back pain episodes settle well and with minimal intervention. Some require varying amounts of conservative care; unfortunately, a few people require serious interventions, sometimes including spinal surgery. The better we understand all aspects of spinal care, the more we can help reduce the number of serious interventions required and the severity of those interventions.

Spine pain affects over 80% of our population at some stage in their life. 16% of Australians (or 1 in 6) report having current back problems. Back pain and problems were the third leading cause of disease burden overall, accounting for 4.2% of Australia’s total disease burden. It cost the Australian health system an estimated $3.4 billion in 2019–20, representing 23% of disease expenditure on musculoskeletal conditions and 2.4% of total health expenditure.

The research into this field is ongoing and evolving. This masterclass will fill the gaps in knowledge and understanding, provide the latest evidence in a simple summarised format, teach the validated tests to accurately assess spinal stability and multifidus function, and provide targeted approaches to address their specific needs.

Spinal stability/instability is commonly discussed but poorly understood amongst all levels of health professionals. The rise of systems and exercise approaches to improve our “core” has been astounding and, in many ways, very beneficial to the population, but as always, a generalist paintbrush approach is non-specific and sadly, many patients suffering spinal instability and multifidus dysfunction are misunderstood and poorly managed.