Ottawa Conference Report

It was with great excitement and anticipation that I headed off to Canada for the 7th Mc Kenzie International Conference - being held in the lovely Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa.

I arrived on Thursday evening ready for a weekend of lectures and workshops. The conference attracted a huge audience. It was amazing to meet therapists from so many different countries and encouraging to find that the McKenzie approach was being promoted and used worldwide.

The lectures were fascinating, with discussion on the centralisation phenomenon, biopsychosocial factors, cervical facet pain and imaging techniques - to name a few. The highlight for me was hearing Nik Bogduk reviewing the anatomy of the cervical disc as well Alf Nachemson outlining the stark realities of evidence based medicine.

There were extensive debates as to the tissue of origin in low back pain. What struck me most was that despite all the various theories, none of us know for certain the specific tissue at fault in the majority of cases. This strengthens the case for classifying patients according to their symptomatic and mechanical responses to loading, as opposed to whatever the current popular model might be.

Throughout the weekend there were also several workshops which were more interactive in nature. These gave participants the opportunity to mix with and ask questions of the faculty members. It was especially interesting to see the principles of treatment applied to the extremity joints. We were also given the chance to take part in specific problem solving workshops.

By Saturday evening it was time to unwind with great food and entertainment provided in the hotel. Again many of the speakers took to the stage but this time it was to sing karaoke. Frank Sinatra never sounded so good!!

The keynote luncheon on Sunday proved very special for me. I was delighted to be awarded The Daniel Charles Morgan Award of Excellence for the year 2000. Dan Morgan - a faculty member and diploma instructor - sadly died in 1996. One diploma candidate is selected each year for this award - given in his honour. Many people spoke to me throughout the weekend about Dan Morgan. He seemed to leave a lasting impression with everybody he came in contact with. I felt truly honoured to be receiving it.

I arrived home from Ottawa with renewed enthusiasm and good memories. The McKenzie diploma was a wonderful learning experience, which totally changed my clinical practice. I would like to thank David Poulter for his inspirational teaching during the 11 weeks in Minneapolis. To receive the Daniel Morgan Award as well as passing the diploma has been the icing on the cake for me.

By Eithne McNabb