"Low Back Pain has always been very common. It is experienced by sixty five per cent of the population at some time during their working lives," said Dr. Riaz Hussain Lakdawala, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi. He was giving the presentation on "Low Back Pain" at the 'Signs, Symptoms and Care' a health awareness programme held on October 27, 2002 in Dubai.

AKUH has organized over 130 Signs, Symptoms and Care programmes in Karachi, which have drawn over 27,000 people, as part of its societal commitment to create awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment. Based on the success of these lectures and, in response to the demand, another programme was arranged in Dubai, which was the fifth in a series of programmes organized in United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Riaz Hussain Lakdawala outlined the causes of back pain, which can be in the vertebral column or outside the column. He also identified the symptoms when it was necessary to consult a doctor, "doctors can reassure that one does not have a serious disease. Doctors can diagnose and treat the few serious spinal diseases. Most often a reassurance and simple advice is all that is required. A few simple measures, like rest to the spine, exercises and physiotherapy will control pain in more than ninety percent of situations. Operative treatment is required for only serious spinal disorders."

The second speaker, Dr. Kamran Hameed, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Consultant Rheumatologist at AKUH spoke about "Osteoporosis". He explained that Osteoporosis is a 'silent risk' factor for fracture just as hypertension is for stroke, "

Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures."

Dr. Kamran Hameed, explained some of the risk factors associated with osteoporosis, such as advanced age, poor health/frailty, female sex etc. He further went on to talk about the methods to diagnose the disease, X-rays and bone mineral densitometry. Finally he outlined the ways for treatment, through modification of the risk factors, nutritional advice, exercise and drugs.

At the end of the programme Dr. Riaz Hussain Lakdawala and Dr. Kamran Hameed responded to questions from the audience.

The Chief Guest, Mr. Amanullah Larik, Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, commended the management of AKUH for being a role model and a source of pride and inspiration for all Pakistanis living abroad.

Earlier, welcoming the guests, Mr. Tariq Shafi, Marketing Manager, AKUH, said that AKUH is a philanthropic non-profit institution committed to deliver quality health care to all segments of society. This Academic Medical Center is a 654-bed facility being sequentially phased into service while at present 500 beds are available and intend to increase the numbers of beds in the coming years. AKUH has become a major referral center in Pakistan and has also started getting patients from Middle East, Bangladesh and East Africa.