Welcoming Words

 

Dear colleagues,

The Local Organizing Committee would like to welcome you to the 18^th International Forum for Back and Neck Pain Research in Primary Care in Groningen, the Netherlands! The Forum has a rich tradition of bringing together a highly multidisciplinary group of researchers dedicated to excellent research, independent from industry sponsorship. Many long lasting collaborations have started during previous Fora. All of this in an informal atmosphere where all participants are equal in their dedication to decrease of the burden of back and neck pain. As LOC, we will do our utmost effort to extend this tradition. After the previous Forum that, due to the pandemic, was organized online by our colleagues from Sydney, we are delighted that we will meet traditionally in-person again, and not online. 

The main theme of the Groningen Forum will be ‘Embrace Complexity’. As we all know, we are studying disorders that are highly complex, with multiple factors that interact with each other in a dynamic context-specific non-linear manner. Yet too often, we are faced with common beliefs and marketing that silver bullets targeting just 1 factor will do the job. Over and over, we are faced with research outcomes demonstrating no or very modest effects. Clearly, clinically targeting or researching 1 or few factors, is not consistent with the complexity of the matter. Additionally, our traditional research methodologies may need to be adapted or extended to ‘Embrace Complexity’.

We invite everyone to join us at the Forum in Groningen and share his or her research with likeminded colleagues, to inspire and be inspired. We especially would like to invite to bring forward your ideas to “Embrace Complexity’ by actively participating in poster sessions, oral presentations, plenary discussions, and lots of possibilities for informal interactions ‘on the side’.

Members of the Local Organizing Committee look forward to welcome you to the city of Groningen, the Netherlands in August 2023!