The overall theme for the 2013 Dubai congress will be:

 

Lumbopelvic Pain is still the second most common cause of sick leave in the industrialized world. It is a problem for patients as they try to seek clear consistent advice. For practitioners it is a complicated multi-factorial issue, especially when psychosomatic factors are involved and the sheer variety of treatments betrays our lack of precise knowledge in predicting outcomes. The great variation in clinical practice without consistent results would suggest sometimes less than ideal care. Too often the choice of treatment reflects the specific skills of the practitioner rather than the needs of the patient.

 

The congress promotes empowerment of the patients to participate in their own care and promotes cost effective prevention of treatment. The program will be developed in partnership with appropriate patient, professional and scientific organisations, companies, health care providers, governments and non-governmental organisations in consultation with global and regional stakeholders.