University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust has congratulated Lisa Roberts – a physiotherapist by background – for becoming Eurospine’s president elect.
The trust voiced its congratulations in a post on X that appeared on 19 November.
Professor Roberts holds a dual role as clinical professor of musculoskeletal health at the Hampshire-based university and a consultant physiotherapist at University Hospital Southampton.
Eurospine is a multidisciplinary organisation that aims to be the ‘driving force’ and the ‘primary and preferred partner’ in Europe and beyond for spinal care issues.
Its mission is to
- optimise patient care and prevention of spinal disorders
- provide and support best practice lifelong learning, research and quality assurance
- bring together all spine-related European stakeholders across disciplines, cultures and countries
Eurospine was founded in 1998 and Professor Roberts has played a key role since 2015. As chair of the Community and Leadership Council, she oversaw a five-fold increase in membership.
She also teaches on the Eurospine Diploma in Interprofessional Spine Care and works with Spine20, an advocacy group that is linked to the G20 summit and lobbies for improved spine health policies internationally
Through Spine20, Lisa has represented the UK at summits in New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro and, most recently, in Cape Town. In 2013, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy awarded Professor Roberts a fellowship in recognition of her work as a leader, clinician, researcher and educator.
‘I am deeply honoured to be elected to the Presidential line of Eurospine and represent the UK, the non-surgical community and women’ [Lisa Roberts]
Eurospine’s ‘exciting future’
In an article about her appointment that is available on her trust’s website, 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.’
Focus on physical activity for long-term spine health
Professor Roberts is also helping to develop and test a training programme to support clinicians in rheumatology clinics with patients from a South Asian background. She is also part of a study exploring couple’s 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.’
Billed as the ‘leading European congress for spine surgery and spinal care’, Eurospine 2026 will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 7-9 October next year.
X: @UHSFTresearch
X: @EUROSPINESoc
X: @LPhysioprof
Image: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
