The Spine Times Helsinki Issue 1

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ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

WELCOME MESSAGE OF THE LOCAL HOSTS

Welcome to Helsinki! Tervetuloa Helsinkiin!

The EUROSPINE Annual Meeti ng in Helsinki will no doubt be the scienti fi c highlight in 2019 for all professionals interested in the treatment and research of spine conditi ons. In additi on to an exciti ng scienti fi c programme, the meeti ng will provide us with ample opportuniti es to meet colleagues from

around the world to share knowledge and experiences.

transportati on system. Helsinki is the capital of Finland, with a populati on of 600,000 it is a nicely sized city where most of the att racti ons are within walking distance. We hope that during your stay in Helsinki you will have an opportunity to explore our disti ncti ve nature, culture, and architecture, and enjoy our local culinary specialti es.

EUROSPINE 2019 takes place at Messukeskus Helsinki, the Expo and Conventi on Centre.

Messukeskus will guarantee us a successful meeti ng experience with its modern, spacious faciliti es and up-to-date technology. Our venue is conveniently situated just 5 minutes from the city centre by train, and the city´s hotels are within Teija Lund and Dietrich Schlenzka easy reach thanks to an excellent public Local hosts 2019

Welcome Message of the President Dear members, dear colleagues, guests and friends,

to exchange ideas, research and new skills. I am already looking forward to this exciti ng event and venue.

I am delighted to welcome you all to the EUROSPINE Annual Meeti ng 2019 in the city of Helsinki. Helsinki has excellent access from Asia and South America and represents our most northerly meeti ng. At this meeti ng we will be 21 years old!

Our local hosts, Teija Lund and Dietrich Schlenzka have already organised an excellent networking programme in this most exciti ng of citi es. We all look forward to welcoming you.

As always we will have an excellent scienti fi c meeti ng with parti cipants from all over the globe

Tim Pigott EUROSPINE President 2019

Patient Day on World Spine Day Wednesday, 16 October, the fi rst day of EUROSPINE’s Annual Meeti ng, coincides with World Spine Day this year. The aim is to raise awareness surrounding the preventi on and eff ecti ve management of spinal conditi ons and the promoti on of spinal health. Show us how you #GETSPINEACTIvE on social media!

Additi onally, on 16 October you will fi nd informati on panels related to back pain in the registrati on area. The Pati ent Line Committ ee will be present and pleased to answer all inquiries you may have. Moreover, EUROSPINE will off er 15 min. of a back friendly mini workout with stretching exercises (between 15:35–16:00) carried out by a physiotherapists. Everybody is invited to join and EUROSPINE contributes with a pati ent informati on #GETSPINEACTIVE. Be in for a litt le surprise – we event which will be held in Finnish on Wednesday, have prepared great give-aways! To top it off , a More details can be found in the online 16 October from 14:30–17:00 in room 208 at the healthy snack and refreshments will be served to programme, on www.eurospine2019.eu and in congress venue. The entry is free of charge. ensure your well-being. the congress app.

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

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Eurospine activities over the past year

On the Way with the Society EUROSPINE at 2nd Saudi Spine Society Annual Conference

Quick Facts • Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia • Date: 17–19 November 2018 • Organising society: Saudi Spine Society • EUROSPINE Representatives: Thomas Blattert, Frank Kandziora

EUROSPINE was invited to participate at the 2nd Saudi Spine Society Meeting held from 17–19 November in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

EUROSPINE was represented by the past-president Prof. Frank Kandziora, Frankfurt, Germany and the past-secretary Prof. Thomas Blattert, Schwarzach, Germany. Both were sharing their expertise with the Saudi colleagues by participating in podium discussions and giving lectures. “The meeting was excellently organised and it was a pleasure to be part of this new society that promotes the exchange of knowledge between disciplines” Prof.

Kandziora mentioned. Prof. Blattert stated “the hospitality and the friendship of our Saudi colleagues is exceptional. It was really a pleasure to be guests at their meeting”.

EUROSPINE 2019 TFR Course “How to make your research more relevant, feasible and publishable”

11 participants took part in the EUROSPINE 2019 TFR Course “How to make your research more relevant, feasible and publishable”. This highly interactive course was hosted by Professor JeanCharles Le Huec on 13–17 March 2019 at the Radisson Blu in Bordeaux, France. Participants represented 10 countries worldwide: France (n=2), Chile (n=1), China (n=1), Croatia (n=1), Denmark (n=1), Iraq (n=1), Russian Federation (n=1), Switzerland (n=1), Tunisia (n=1), United Kingdom (n=1). Spine specialists including orthopedic surgeons (n=6) and neurosurgeons (n=2) were well The Saudi Spine Society has approx. 300 members represented. A primary care physician, a researand was founded in 2017 as a multidisciplinary cher in basic science and a neurologist also took “organ specific society” including not only part and greatly contributed. The course had orthopaedic and neurosurgical spine surgeons, but lectures covering the theory and methodologies of also for example; physiotherapists, neurologists clinical research and practical workshops. During and pain specialist. EUROSPINE as well as NASS the workshops, each group of 3–4 participants and AOSpine are supporting the development of was requested to formulate a research question, the Saudi Spine Society via this exchange design and plan a study. During the workshop, and programme. at each stage of the study design and planning, participants were provided with guidance and feedback from the faculty and clinical experts.

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ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

“I would like to thank EUROSPINE for awarding me a travel grant to attend this course. It was a wonderful and useful experience. The faculty members were very patient while answering a lot of questions from the participants. I will use the knowledge gained about the structure of the research studies in my future career and would recommend this course to all young researchers who are interested in details about how to make a scientific study.” I. Domazet

Team EUROSPINE at Wings for Life World Run 2019

a focus group, which was very much appreciated by the participants. Finally, the groups were left to work on their own to prepare their research project protocols. They presented their protocols to the faculty on the last morning of the course.

The Faculty gave valuable comments and assessed their research projects.

One group decided to design a study on the use of non-anti-inflammatory medication in the treatment of acute disc herniation. The hypothesis derived that patients with acute back and leg pain caused by herniated discs treated with non-anti-inflammatory medication would present less leg pain than patients treated with NSAIDs at 3 months follow-up. Another group worked on a randomised control trial to assess the efficacy of intramuscular Bupivacaine versus placebo to delay postoperative opioid use after elective posterior cervical surgery. Dr Tim Pigott, EUROSPINE President, had shared valuable information regarding Spine Tango registry data and its use for clinical research. This resulted in the third group planning a historical cohort study from Spine Tango registry, questioning if the surgical approach affects the outcome in lumbar monosegmental fusion for degenerative disc disease and low-grade spondylolisthesis. During the week, participants also had the opportunity to hear from each of the faculty’s experience on publishing research and, were provided with recommendations for their future publications.

Participants’ enthusiasm and hard work contributed to making the 2019 TFR course a success, and we wish to thank them all for their assiduity as they conscientiously prepared their practice research projects. We also wish to express our gratitude to our faculty members for the quality of their teaching and for coaching each group throughout this very intense week of education. Our thanks to our hosts, Professor Le Huec for organising this course and to our local clinical experts, Dr de Sèze and Prof. Richez, for providing participants with their expert feedback. Our deepest thanks Ms Katrien Mergaert and Ms Miabi Rosenfeld (Porta Mundi), who have been instrumental in organising this live event’s logistics and to the Radisson Blu Bordeaux. This course is held every year in March

in a different venue. This is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in research, all clinicians to do research or those who plan to apply for research grants. The EUROSPINE also sponsors development, pilot study and main study grants.

Additional information can be found on EUROSPINE website, under Activities=>Research=> Funding for Research. The application process for 2019 is closed but the 2020 application deadline will be advertised on EUROSPINE website and newsletter.

Over 120,000 registered runners and wheelchair participants at more than 320 locations across 72 countries covered 1,103,276 km globally in the sixth annual Wings for Life World Run charity event to raise funds for spinal cord injury research.

One hundred percent of entry fees and donations raised in the Wings for Life World Run – over €3.5 mio in the 2019 edition alone – goes to leadingedge research funded by the non-profit Wings for Life foundation.

Quick Facts • Location: Global Date: 5 May 2019 • Organiser: Wings for Life Foundation • Number of Participants: 120,000+ • Team EUROSPINE participants: 13

#TeamEUROSPINE consisted of 13 members who were running in 6 countries (GER, TUR, SUI, AUT, 2019 Travel Grants GBR, ITA) and managed to run 167 km and raise For the first time this year, EUROSPINE sponsored 485,83 EUR altogether. We rank 485th out of 2,347 4 travel grants to attend the 2019 TFR Course in teams worldwide. Christoph Mehren from Munich Bordeaux. Travel grants were awarded following a again did amazing with 32 km, followed by complete application and review process. GranClaudia Ortner and Marco Teli with 17 km each. tees were selected for the quality of their appliEmre Acaroglu and Anne Mannion were our cations and relevance of the TFR Course to their members supporting us in Turkey and the UK. Staff careers. Congratulations to the 4 grantees! Read members Julie-Lyn Noël, Judith Reichert Schild and on their experiences at the TFR course below.

Anna Faber further mobilised children, husbands, siblings and friends. The contrast in weather “I would like to express my gratitude for such great conditions was striking, with a surprising snowfall, opportunity to participate in EUROSPINE 2019 TFR hail and cold temperatures in Munich, Vienna and Course. This was a great opportunity to acquire Zürich to rather pleasant conditions in the other basic understanding in my clinical research, to locations. So, it is quite comforting to see that know the main tools and concepts. My take home unfavorable weather conditions did not hold back message? “There must be no politics in science”. our runners.

We are all from different countries and cultures.

But all of us thrive towards one goal: cultivate science! Thank you EUROSPINE for such a possibility and a great study course!” A. Tkachev “I would like to thank EUROSPINE for providing Travel Grants which will help spread the teaching of quality scientific research, and to express my gratitude to the organising team and the faculties for the quality of the organisation, the warm welcome and the scientific level throughout the course. The TFR course helped me fill the gaps that I had in carrying out a scientific research. During the workshops, we worked on the practical aspects of the research and there was a good match between the theory we learned at the beginning of the day and what we practiced during workshops with the help of the faculties who provided guidance to solve problems. “The Brightest Minds in Spine Are Members of EUROSPINE”. M. Nefiss

Being part of this worldwide event helps to enhance the drumbeat on our social media channels and thus increases our visibility. On race day we published a couple of posts on social media which resulted in a reach of 2,800 people. A big shout out goes to those who decided to go out there despite unfavourable weather conditions (hail, rain, storm and cold!) – thank you so much! This is #spinetastic! The next edition of the Wings for Life World Run will be held on Sunday, 3 May 2020 – so please mark your calendars and save the date!

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

Spring Specialty Meeting Frankfurt

The 5th editi on of a EUROSPINE Spring Specialty Meeti ng took place from 2–3 May 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, and was organised in partnership with the German Spine Society (DWG), AOSpine and Scoliosis Research Society (SRS).

174 parti cipants from 37 countries att ended the meeti ng on “Highly Complex Spine Surgery”. The Organising Committ ee, represented by the course chairs Frank Kandziora, Thomas Blatt ert and Bernhard Meyer brought worldwide recognised experts together that shared their ‘ti ps and tricks’ for highly complex spinal surgery, which made this onceonly masterclass a unique educati onal opportunity in the fi eld. Frank Kandziora, EUROSPINE Past President, is happy that “our 32 invited speakers kept everyone at the edge of their seats with a

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high-quality programme”. Among others, sessions were dedicated to spinal deformiti es in children and adults, spinal tumours, juxta-dural pathologies and spine trauma. Discussions were conti nued late into the night at the Congress Evening in a typically Hessian atmosphere.

prevent and treat complicati ons in degenerati ve lumbar spine surgery“ at the 8th Global Spine Congress (GSC) which took place from 15–18 May 2019 in Toronto, Canada. EUROSPINE supported AOSpine, a global academic spine community promoti ng excellence in pati ent care and outcomes, at its scienti fi c annual congress yet again.

EUROSPINE is Europe’s largest spine society with a The GSC is one of the biggest gatherings for constantly growing number of members and noted thousands of spine surgeons from all over the for its Annual General Meeti ng always taking place in fall. With the Spring Specialty Meeti ng, EUROSPINE has responded to increasing demand for more targeted educati on in selected subspecialti es to fulfi l its central claim: to be the driving force and the primary and preferred partner in Europe for all spinal care issues. The date for the next editi on of a Spring Specialty Meeti ng has been set for 30 April – 1 May 2020 and will take place again in Frankfurt, Germany. world. The congress provides an outstanding forum to exchange ideas, network with fellow spine professionals, and to learn about the latest Quick Facts research, techniques, and technologies in spine • Locati on: Toronto, Canada surgery. Prof. Thomas Blatt ert, chief physician • Date: 15–18 May 2019 of the spine unit at Orthopädische Fachklinik • Organiser: AOSpine Schwarzach, who had taken over the chairmanship • Number of Parti cipants: approx. 1,500 of the symposium, confi rmed that „aft er successful collaborati ons on diff erent occasions in the past, EUROSPINE, one of the largest internati onal spine I am happy to support our friends at AOSpine and societi es, hosted a lunch symposium on „How to conti nue this fruitf ul collaborati on in the future.”

Global Spine Congress 2019

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ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

EUROSPINE at 8th Tiantan International Spine & 2nd TISF/ IGASS Combined Forum

Quick Facts • Locati on: Beijing, China • Date: 17–18 May 2019 • Organiser: Baoge Liu, MD PhD, Spine Surgeon, Professor & Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University • Parti cipants: approx. 350

EduWeek 2019: New City, Venue, App and Launch of the Interprofessional Diploma Courses!

The EduWeek was under the sign of novelty this year with many exciti ng developments. For the fi rst ti me ever, the EduWeek took place at the new SFITS facility (Swiss Foundati on for Innovati on and Training in Surgery) and nearby CMU (University Medical Centre) in Geneva, Switzerland. A brandnew course app providing parti cipants and faculty with useful interacti ve means to parti cipate in the EduWeek was also launched this year.

In additi on to these novelti es, four of the overEUROSPINE, one of the largest internati onal spine all seven EDISC modules (EUROSPINE Diploma in societi es worldwide, recently endorsed yet again Interprofessional Spine Care) were introduced the 8th Tiantan Internati onal Spine & 2nd TISF/ during the 2019 EduWeek, with parti cipati on from IGASS Combined Forum which was successfully a wide range of professionals from various backheld in Beijing from 17–18 May 2019. As part of grounds, including surgeons, physiotherapists, the TISF faculty, Prof. Jörg Franke, EUROSPINE chiropractors, osteopaths and other health care Secretary and Prof. Thomas Blatt ert, EUROSPINE practi ti oners involved in the treatment of spine Past Secretary, were “happy to support such an disorders. During the EDISC modules, workshops, internati onal and interdisciplinary format!” InterQ&A sessions with the app and group discussions nati onal spine experts gave lectures and discussed ensured learners would fully engage in the course. hot topics focusing on spinal tumours. Since its During the surgical modules, practi cal workshops foundati on, the Tiantan Internati onal Spine Forum in the cadaver laboratory and on simulators were a has become a high-level academic conference with central part of the educati on. The new course app internati onal spine experts. In 2021, the TISF will voti ng system was introduced during some of the celebrate its 10th Anniversary and is planning a sessions to further enhance the interacti ve comhigh-calibre anniversary meeti ng. EUROSPINE is ponents of the modules. Parti cipants taking part honoured to parti cipate and consequently conti in the cadaver laboratory were impressed with the nue the fruitf ul collaborati on.

SFITS facility and greatly appreciated the hands-on workshops. During all modules, parti cipants and faculty had the opportunity to discuss, debate, refl ect and share their personal experience. Thanks to the 67 renowned and dedicated faculty members and to highly professional staff from SFITS, Quick Facts CMU, Porta Mundi, HUG catering and APACE, this • Locati on: Venice, Italy year’s EduWeek was a success. Our deepest thanks • Date: 1 June 2019 go to our partners (Cerapedics, Medtronic, Nuvasi• Organiser: Italian Society of Spine Surgery (GIS) ve, Seaspine and Spineart) without whose support • Number of Parti cipants: approx. 25 this would not have been possible.

• EUROSPINE Representati ves: Alessio Lovi, Andrea Luca and Marco Teli

EUROSPINE at GIS Annual Meeting 2019

The topic of the symposium, a parallel one-hour session during the GIS Annual Meeti ng 2019, was „Surgical - decision making in adolescence idiopathic scoliosis“, a sti ll very controversial subject.

Prof. Giuseppe Costanzo, current GIS president, took over the chairship of the symposium. Alessio Lovi, Andrea Luca and Marco Teli moderated the symposium. Furthermore, Marco Teli presented on the role of anterior fusion. All presentati ons were of great quality and the discussion was very interacti ve. Parti cularly, a very interesti ng debate took place regarding the current view on LIV in anterior versus posterior fusion for AIS. All the parti cipants wish that the cooperati on between GIS and EUROSPINE can conti nue in the future.

Overall, 158 parti cipants representi ng 31 countries worldwide att ended EUROSPINE EduWeek, some of them att ending up to four modules throughout the week. The most represented countries were Switzerland (n=24), Germany (n=23), United Kingdom (n=14), France (n=13) and Denmark (n=11).

Other European countries as well as Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa were also represented. A parti cipant told us about the expert opinion sessions he took part in: “Interesti ng and diffi cult cases discussed with experts and with other parti cipants. New points of view about medical management and pathological issues that need to be resolved on urgent or regular basis. Regarding experts’ opinion, it was really very important due to their large experience in spine cases”. Regarding the interacti ve sessions of the modules, other parti cipants commented that: “Excellent discussions with friendly interacti on with all speakers and moderators”, “The interacti ve parts were very good, observing and being forced to „roll-play“ was really interesti ng and helpful”.

Other enthusiasti c parti cipants commented: “I think it was so useful for me. I am so thankful to the whole EUROSPINE team. The great performance of the whole team is just superb.” “The session with specimens was very educati onal. I was able to achieve my learning objecti ve.”

On Wednesday evening, a local wine and cheese tasti ng took place on the rooft op of the Geneva University Hospital (HUG). During this event, parti cipants and faculty had ti me to network and further exchange, while admiring the magnifi cent view of the city, surrounding mountains and of course the Geneva Lake and its fountain. We wish to congratulate the parti cipants who were awarded the EUROSPINE Diploma this year. The 2019 EUROSPINE diplomates are now eligible to obtain the EUROSPINE Advanced Diploma once they will have competed the two advanced modules and obtained validati on by EUROSPINE of their 6-months fellowship. The next EduWeek will take place from 29 June to 3 July 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland. Registrati ons for the 2020 EduWeek is expected to open at our Annual Meeti ng in Helsinki and will be adverti sed in our newslett er!

Also, please note our upcoming Hybrid EduWeek, a blended learning course combining eLearning and face-to-face meeti ng (Geneva, Switzerland, 18–20 November 2019). A few seats are sti ll available!

Please contact education@eurospine.org for further informati on.

Burning Questions

Every day you will fi nd two questi ons here which you can answer in the EUROSPINE conference app.

1. If institutional certification for interprofessional spine care (nonsurgical) was available, would your centre apply for it? Yes or no?

2. Does your institution offer a structured rehabilitation program for spinal disorders? Yes or no?

To parti cipate, please use the EUROSPINE smartphone app (available at www.eurospine.app). The results will be shown in tomorrow‘s issue.

Thank you for your parti cipati on!

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

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Welcome to the Regional Baltic Sea Hub of Easy, Smart and Beautiful

The capital region of Finland is the epitome of easy, smart – and beautiful. The area consisting of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and seven smaller cities such as Porvoo and Tuusulanjärvi, is boasting with design, architecture and innovation. While the region humbly bows its head towards the architectural greats of Alvar Aalto and Eliel Saarinen, it also gives the promise of a better future through the smart city-programme and by committing to becoming most known for its sustainability scheme by 2025.

D00002275A_Eurospine_2019_Ad_06_OL.pdf 8/7/19 11:11 AM Smart city life in Helsinki means1 digital services

that make life fluent and climate-friendly. In global smart city comparisons, Helsinki reached top spots in 2018. It is the single best city in the world for digital transport services. The city is also the best in Europe when it comes to smart city tourism, according to the European Capital of Smart Tourism Competition, which evaluated the cities in terms of accessibility, sustainable development of tourism, utilisation of digitalisation in tourist services, cultural heritage and innovation in the tourism offerings. The Helsinki region is highly active in creating agile and user-focused services and solutions. The region is big enough for the

development of technology and incredible innovations, while still being small enough to also make it feasible in practice.

The greater Helsinki region is a tangible mix of beautiful things to see, explore and experience from Jugendstil buildings to the new Amos Rex contemporary art museum, national parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The region is a yearround destination easily accessed through air, land or water. It offers easy access to the rest of Finland and the neighbouring countries Sweden, Russia, Norway and Estonia. While day trips to those are

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encouraged, the region itself is full of things to explore! Offering a delicate combination of museums and attractions, urban nature, artist villages and delicious food, the Helsinki region is a hidden gem only waiting to be explored.

Culture and History Helsinki was moved to its current location in the 17th century and has since been growing into the capital city of Finland. The city’s seaside location has through times become an advantage in bringing wealth, inhabitants and merchants into the town. In 1748 Sweden began construction of the Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress off the coast of Helsinki to counter the growing threat from Russia, while Russia conquered Finland in 1809. The status of Helsinki was raised to capital of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland three years later.

A monumental Empire-style city plan was drawn up to reflect the power of Russia and the Tsar.

Finland became independent in 1917, and Helsinki assumed the demanding new role of capital of the young republic. City planning was characterised

by Classicism and Functionalism. Recovering from the hardships of war, Helsinki hosted the Summer Olympics in 1952. The games created an international reputation for Helsinki as an efficient and friendly host city. A reputation which continues until today.

The greater Helsinki area will welcome you with open arms. It will seduce you with long walks along the water visiting the now famous Suomenlinna UNESCO World Heritage listed sea fortress, the enchanting old town of Porvoo, the iron works village in Fiskars and the rich cultural history of Lake Tuusula and surroundings. The area offers plenty of architectural pearls: Alvar Aalto masterpieces such as the Academic Bookstore and the Finlandia Hall, major international art centers such as Kiasma and Oodi, the central library. Helsinki is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe and yet it comes through as one of the warmest due to its compact centrum and a large, beating heart.

Explore some of the best Helsinki has to offer as it must neither be exquisite nor expensive.

Helsinki is buzzing with happy energy. It is easy to get around with a public transportation day-ticket covering metro, bus and tram routes plus the Suomenlinna ferry – children under the age of seven travel for free. Transfer time is smooth: 30 minutes to and from the airport, whether you hop on a taxi, bus or train. There are comfortable yellow

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

city-bikes for rent and ferries will take you out to cultures of Central and South America. You can some of the 330 nearby islands. Navigating on foot also learn more about Finland’s history – from is easy too – it only takes 40 minutes to get from 10,000 years ago till today. one side of the city to the other.

If you are looking for unusual architecture head to If you are cold or need a break while you walk the Temppeliaukio Church which is quarried out of the city, visit one of the amazing coffee shops and the natural bedrock – due to its unique acoustics it cafés around. Finnish people LOVE their coffee – is also a perfect concert venue. Other churches, they consume more coffee per person than any such as the Uspenskin Cathedral is definitely worth other nation in the world. The average Finn drinks a visit – the orthodox cathedral is beautiful from 3-4 mugs a day. If you prefer tea you may try its the inside as well as the oudside. Uspenskin is Finnish version for something new - rooibos mixed the largest Russian Orthodox Church in Western

with sea-buckthorn and birch leave aka Polar Night Europe – if you have time also visit it during cup at Teemaa Tea House. nighttime as the lights bring out many details of this beautiful building. The Helsinki Cathedral is As for cultural activities – Helsinki has much to very imposing but more simple overall. You will be offer impressed by the white building as you climb the stairs in front of it. The Helsinki Cathedral domiHAM the Helsinki Art Museum currently exhibits nates the Senate Square which is the center of the Ellen Thesleffs art, photographs and texts, an oldest part of central Helsinki. If you look around exhibition on Tove Jansson and her frescos and you will also see the Government palace as well as an exhibition about Old Age. Kiasma, the museum the main building of the University of Helsinki. You of contemporary art, show the photographs of might have arrived at the Helsinki Central Station Norwegian artist Torbjørn Rødland who is famous which was designed by Eliel Saarinen and inaufor his carefully staged photographs which evoke gurated in 1919. It is known as one of the most emotions. Furthermore, the Coexistence exhibiti- beautiful train stations in the world according to a on looks at the relationship between humans and BBC ranking. nature. The Design Museum is a specialist museum of Finnish Design which is known around the Helsinki has three unique market halls which are world. The National Museum of Finland is not only over 100 years old. The Old Market Hall along the known for its art but also its impressive building. south harbour – here you can get anything from You will be fascinated by its beauty and the inter- souvenirs to fresh seafood, fish and meats – also action of the art and the architecture. On Friday, to be eaten directly onsite. Walk through the mar18 October, a new exhibition will take you on an ket stands and enjoy the smells and sights. You will enchanting journey of discovery into the ancient also find some local specialties here.

As you are already at the water you can rent a bike and ride along the shores of the city to see some of the most popular sights such as the Sibelius Monument or the Sky Wheel. Many restaurants and cafes can be found along the waterside.

If the markets got you in a mood for shopping there are three busy shopping streets – the Esplanadi, Aleksanterinkatu and Mannerheimintie where you can find everything your heart desires. If you felt inspired by the Design Museum you can hunt for more unique clothes, design objects as well as antiques in the Design District or Tori Quarters. You will find vast amounts of handcrafted goods and special items to take home.

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

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THE FINNISH LANGUAGE

Puhutko suomea? Do you speak Finnish? predominant language in educati on and government.

One of the main infl uences on the strengthening of Finnish in culture was the publicati on of the nati onal epic poem Kalevala, which consisted of ballads, lyrical songs and incantati ons which were orally passed on and were compiled by Elias Lönnrot.

An easy Finnish word which is known around the globe is sauna [pronounced sow-nah]. A litt le more complicated is epäjärjestelmällistytt ämätt ömyydelläänsäkäänköhän.

We made a small compilati on of words that might be useful for your days in Helsinki.

The Finnish language is said to be one of the most complicated to learn and master. Today the language is spoken by 5.4 million nati ve speakers mostly living in Finland, but also Sweden, Norway

and Russia. Originally the language is a Uralic language. Historically Swedish was more important in Finland. Only since the mid-19th century Finnish has gradually become the

Hei Hei – Hi/Bye Excuse me – Anteeksi Kiitos – Thank you/Please Minun nimeni on … – My name is …

Hyvää huomenta! – Good morning!

Hyvää iltaa! – Good evening!

Hyvää yötä! – Good night!

Missa on vessa? – Where is the bathroom?

Kippis – Cheers

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ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

GET IN TOUCH

Meet the EUROSPINE Team

Judith is the Director of Administrati on and she does work out twice a week and swims more oft en than that, not only in the lake to #getspineacti ve.

Julie-Lyn is Director of Educati on and Research and to #getspineacti ve she runs by the lake each ti me she gets the chance.

Sandy is Educati on and Research Manager and does yoga and Kung-fu once or twice a week, depending on her schedule and she goes to the gym once a week. In summer, she does stand-up paddle on the lake and swims as oft en as she can, in the lake or in the swimming pool.

Robert is Registry and Educati on Manager and to #getspineacti ve he does 2–3 exercises outdoors per week, either short mountain bike tours or running 4k in the local park.

Claudia is Membership Relati ons Manager and does Yoga. To top it off she runs through the woods as oft en as possible to #getspineacti ve.

Anna is Marketi ng Communicati ons Manager and her daily aft ernoon routi ne includes biking and running aft er her toddler and preschooler.

Someti mes she even makes it to the gym to #getspineacti ve.

NEW Members‘ Cocktail Reception EUROSPINE grows year on year. Not only do we grow in size but also in talent. In order to get to know new members personally and facilitate collaborati on and networking, we have established this inspiring recepti on.

EUROSPINE has the pleasure to invite new members to the Cocktail Recepti on at the EUROSPINE booth today from 15:20–16:20 at our booth in the Exhibiti on Hall. Take this great opportunity to get in touch.

• Meet members of the EUROSPINE Society Board • Get to know the EUROSPINE Membership Committ ee • New members receive their offi cial EUROSPINE Membership Certi fi cate • Meet old and make new friends

EUROSPINE Booth: Your Rendezvous

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

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WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2019

Programme Overview 08:30–08:38

Opening Locati on: Plenary Hall

08:42–10:00

Infection, Tumour, Epidemiology Locati on: Plenary Hall

10:00–10:30

Coffee Break Locati on: Exhibiti on Hall

10:30–11:15

Debate 1: Robotics and Smart Systems Will Replace Spinal Surgeons by 2030 Locati on: Plenary Hall

11:15–12:00

Debate 2: Surgical versus Regenerative Therapies – is Disc Regeneration the Future?

Locati on: Plenary Hall

12:00–13:50

12:00–13:50

14:00–15:20

Keynote Lecture

„Data and its use in health care“ Juha Antti Tuominen, PhD Health care data is traditi onally used for billing and science purposes. Data is oft en collected specifi cally to be used in academic science. Data that is generated by electronic medical records can be used also as big data for populati on health. The more structured data one has, the more it can be used as a tool for enterprise resource planning. Automati c segmenti ng of pati ent groups to diff erent care paths, automated reminders and automated rule engine generated steering of pati ents in the paths will increase in near future. This steering will take place by communicati on using apps or even simple sms-messages and that will result to bett er effi ciency, but also bett er customer (pati ent) experience.

10:00–10:30

Meet the Experts Medtronic – booth 27 Joimax – booth 25A EOS imaging – booth 33A

EUROSPINE Lunch Symposium 1 Learning from the Experts. Cervical Surgical Video Session in Cooperation with OOT Locati on: Meeti ng Room 101

12:00–14:00

lndustry Workshop

EUROSPINE Lunch Symposium 2 Current Concepts on Sagittal Balance in Adult Spinal Deformities Locati on: Meeti ng Room 102

12:00–14:00

QuickFires Basic Science Locati on: Meeti ng Room 102

12:00–14:00

14:00–15:20

QuickFires Degenerative (thoracolumbar) Locati on: Plenary Hall

14:00–15:20

QuickFires Infection, Diagnostics, Imaging, Epidemiology Locati on: Meeti ng Room 101

14:00–15:20

QuickFires Minimal Invasive Spine Surgery, New Techniques Locati on: Meeti ng Room 103a

15:20–16:20

Coffee Break Locati on: Exhibiti on Hall

16:20–17:48

Degenerative (thoracolumbar), Basic science Locati on: Plenary Hall

Locati on: Meeti ng Room 103 lndustry Workshop Locati on: Meeti ng Room 203 lndustry Workshop Locati on: Meeti ng Room 206

15:20–15:50

Meet the Experts Medtronic – booth 27 Johnson & Johnson – booth 17 Joimax – booth 25A ZEISS – booth 14

TFR Course 2020 Dear young researchers, esteemed colleagues,

provides a unique opportunity to engage in lectures, workshops, and group discussions with world-class faculty members on the topic of Please, allow me to personally designing and conducti ng a clinical study. For fi ve welcome you to Ljubljana, days, the course parti cipants will gain the basic European Green Capital 2016 knowledge and learn the necessary skills to and candidate for European produce a protocol for research that is ready to Capital of Culture 2025, for a Task Force Research use in an actual grant applicati on. You will, of Course ti tled „How to make your research more course, do this in a tourist-friendly, academically relevant, feasible and publishable“, from 10–14 producti ve, and historically rich environment that In the hope of you joining us in Ljubljana, I wish March 2020.

I am sure of my hometown can more than you all the best, adequately provide.

EUROPINE’s course, taking place yearly since 2008, Janez Mohar, MD PhD

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ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

ISSUE 1 | WEDNESDAY, 16 October 2019 | EUROSPINE2019.EU

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Studies which were supported by a EUROSPINE TFR Grant Wednesday, 16 October 08:42–10:00 Infecti on, Tumour, Epidemiology 2 EXPRESSION OF TRPV4 IN HUMAN IVDS AND ITS RELEVANCE IN STRETCH-INDUCED INFLAMMATION Karin Wuertz-Kozak, Zurich, Switzerland Elena Cambria, Aleksandra Sadowska, Lisbet Haglund, Olga Krupkova, Fabian Passini, Wolfgang Hitzl, Jess Snedeker, Oliver Hausmann, Karin Wuertz-Kozak Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; McGill Scoliosis and Spine Research Center, Montreal, Canada; Research Office (Biostatistics), PMU Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Klinik Sankt-Anna Hirslanden, Lucerne, Switzerland What is the topic of your paper?

In numerous ti ssues, transient receptor potenti al (TRP) channels are implicated in sensing mechanical and osmoti c stress and in modulati ng infl ammati on as well as pain. In this project, we fi rst investi gated which TRPs channel are expressed in intervertebral discs (IVDs) and whether their expression is aff ected by e.g. age, degenerati on, pain status or infl ammati on. Several candidates were then further analyzed for their potenti al role in mechanosensing in the IVD. We specifi cally found TRPV4, TRCP6 and TRPM7 to be of relevance in sensing osmoti c and mechanical stresses.

IMPRINT The Spine Times® is a free congress newspaper published by EUROSPINE. Publishing House: EUROSPINE, The Spine Society of Europe Seefeldstrasse 16 8610 Uster-Zürich Switzerland Contact: E: info@eurospine.org P: +41 44 994 14 04 Feedback: E: editor@spineti mes.com W: www.spineti mes.com Publishers: Tim Pigott (EUROSPINE President) Everard Munti ng (EUROSPINE Vice President) Thomas R. Blatt ert (EUROSPINE Past Secretary) Editors in Chief: Thomas Blatt ert, Anna Faber, Dominique Rothenfl uh Administrative Director: Judith Reichert Schild Onsite Editor in Chief: Felix Degeler Contributors: Anna Faber, Frank Jensen, Julie-Lyn Noël, Claudia Ortner, Judith Reichert Schild, Olivia Wais, Arno di Leporano Photographs: Mario Habenbacher, Daniel Kleinfercher, Maximilian Pruckner, Marti n Steiger, Jan Stergerits Art Direction: G. J. F. Weiss (grX)

What is the outlook of your research?

We also identi fi ed a few TRP channels whose expression is strogly associated with pain durati on and/or pain intensity. In the future, we will investi gate these candidates more thoroughly as they represent promising therapeuti c targets for degenerati ve disc disease.

In what respect do you consider the grant valuable for your future research?

The grant has been detrimental in building up this pillar of my research. Due to the interesti ng fi ndings, the research will conti nue with a clear focus on translati on.

Wednesday, 16 October 14:00–15:20 Basic Science QF3 COMPARISON OF ANNULUS FIBROSUS CELL COLLAGEN REMODELING RATES IN A MICROTISSUE SYSTEM René Castelein, Utrecht, Netherlands Isabel Tromp, Jasper Foolen, Ying Zhang, Danny Chan, Laura Creemers, Moyo Kruyt, René Castelein, Keita Ito Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands; Hong Kong University, Hong Kong

Wednesday, 16 October 14:00–15:20 Infecti on, Diagnosti cs, Imaging, Epidemiology QF34 DEVELOPMENT OF AN EPIGENETIC IVD TEST FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS (AIS) Ester Berenguer-Pascual, Valencia, Spain Ester Berenguer-Pascual, Giselle Pérez-Machado, Eva García-López, Salvador Mena-Mollá, Paloma Bas-Hermida, Pedro Rubio-Belmar, Federico Pallardó, José Luis García-Gimenez, Teresa Bas-Hermida Center for Biomedical Network Research-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Facultat de Medicina i Odontología, University of Valencia; Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe, EpiDisease SL., Valencia, Spain

#HASHTAGPRINTER & Selfie Wall

Posti ng a photo on Instagram or Twitt er is all good #EUROSPINE2019 and pick it up from our and well, but don’t you someti mes wish you could #hashtagprinter, located at the EUROSPINE Booth. take your photos home with you as a good, oldfashioned Polaroid?

All photos tagged with #EUROSPINE2019 on Twitt er and public Instagram profi les will be At EUROSPINE 2019 you can have the best of both printed automati cally – no matt er where you took worlds! Tag your photo with the hashtags them.

RUNNING TOGETHER FOR EXCELLENCE IN SPINE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

ESF Charity Run 2019

Event Details Date: Thursday, 17 October 2019 Time: 07:00–08:00 Distance: 5 kilometres Start: Messukeskus Helsinki,

Messuaukio 1,

00521 Helsinki, Finland Meeti ng Point: 06:40 Southern entrance of Messukeskus Registrati on fee: € 25 *

Photos ©: APACE P.L.C., Shutt erstock Inc. Powered by: … is a worldwide operati ng business consultancy focusing on comprehensive communicati on strategies and sustainable investments. www.apace.com

Team EUROSPINE *100% of your net registration fee will be donated Due to the fact that the fi rst EUROSPINE Founto ESF to support spinal education and research! dati on (ESF) Charity Run 2018 in Barcelona with more than 120 parti cipants was very successful it The ESF Charity Run is supported by has been decided to organise the event in Helsinki again this year.