Henry V Crock Lecture

To further the understanding and dissemination of fundamental research into spinal disorders DISCS’ has created an annual lectureship at which the world’s most eminent researchers, physicians and surgeons are invited to speak. Named after the founder of DISCS, this annual lectureship is one of the most prestigious invitations in the orthopaedic community.

6th Annual Henry V Crock Lecture

Jeremy Fairbank is Professor of Spinal Surgery at Oxford University and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre Oxford.

He studied medicine at Cambridge University and at St. Thomas’s Hospital London and trained as an orthopaedic surgeon in London on the St Bartholomew’s Hospital programme and was a spinal fellow at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital Oswestry where he established the Oswestry Disability Index. This index is now used worldwide for assessing back pain and the results of treatment of back pain.

Jeremy Fairbank was initially appointed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham before joining the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre at Oxford in 1989. His research interests are in the effectiveness of different treatments for degenerative diseases of the spine.

Professor Fairbank has published widely on all aspects of spinal disorders and treatment of back pain and he led an MRC study into the effectiveness of spinal fusion in patients with low back pain.

Professor Fairbank will be addressing the subject of:

“Have advances in spinal surgery made any differences to the outcomes?”

For details on the 6th Annual Lecture 2011, feel free to download the information leaflet which includes Lecture Date, Venue and contact details.

5th Annual Henry V Crock Lecture

The 2010 Henry V Crock lecture was delivered by Alison McGregor, Professor of Musculoskeletal Biodynamics at Imperial College London and head of the Human Performance Group.

Professor McGregor leads a programme of research into rowing performance and with the GB rowing team she is continuing studies in preparation for 2012 Olympic Games.

Alison is an investigator in the Medical Engineering Solutions in Osteoarthritis Centre of Excellence which is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the ESPRC.

Professor McGregor is President Elect of the Society for Back Pain Research and is on the executive committee of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine.

4th Annual Henry V Crock Lecture

The 2009 Henry V Crock lecture entitled "Technology and Surgery" was delivered by Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham KBE on Thursday 29 October 2009 at Imperial College, London. Professor Darzi is a special adviser to Government on health, and currently holds the Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London where he is head of Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics.

3rd Annual Henry V Crock Lecture

The 2008 Henry V Crock lecture was delivered by Professor Keith Luk, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at Hong Kong University. The subject of his lecture was Intervertebral Disc Transplantation. This fascinating lecture was given at Brunel University on 1st October 2008 at the beginning of the 2008 spinal course at Brunel University and Imperial College London.

2rd Annual Henry V Crock Lecture

The 2007 Henry V Crock lecture was delivered by Dr Leonard Fass, Director Academic Relations GE Healthcare, on the  10th October 2007 at Imperial College London. The subject was A Journey Around The Spine and was centred around the amazing ability of modern imaging especially MRI to evaluate and understand the process of spinal diseases, particularly the importance of improved visibility to the detection and understanding of the biochemistry of the intervertebral disc.

Inaugural Henry V Crock Lecture

The inaugural lecture, held in conjunction with Imperial College and the Institute of Musculoskeletal Surgery on 6th September 2006, was given by Harry Crock himself, entitled “Reflections on 50 years in Orthopaedics”. The event attracted a large and international audience, and was poignant, amusing, informative, and ultimately challenging in Mr Crock’s call for the percentage of spinal trauma’s resulting in paralysis to be dramatically reduced, an outcome he believes is attainable.