I recently attended the First Biennial International Sports and Spine Congress held in Tokyo, Japan. Organised by the Seattle Science Foundation, leading members of the international spinal surgical community discussed and debated controversies in the management of spinal conditions and injuries in sportsmen and women.
Topics ranged from traumatic brain and spine sporting injuries and new hope for spinal cord injury recovery to ‘Stem Cells’ in disc regeneration, with discussions about high-end youth sports to ageing athletes: what’s possible and how much sport is actually good?
Due to the international spread of speakers it was really interesting to get an insight in how different countries in the world approach the same surgical issues depending on resources and available finances. For example, our colleagues in the USA have almost unlimited funds compared to colleagues in South Africa who have very limited facilities and funds and this is reflected in both their practices.
One of the most interesting talks was about the advances in mind-controlled exo-skeletons and what will be potentially possible and available for patients in the future. Since the first exo-skeleton prototype was developed, this area of bio-robotic research has made significant progression and refinements that I felt it needed its own report!
