Our Mission

Our mission at the Spine Research Institute is to systematically improve the way we prevent, evaluate, and treat spine disorders through the identification of disorder causal pathways.  We accomplish this mission through collaborative research, education, and the development of platform technologies.

Our diverse team is united by our core purpose, which is to lessen the physical, emotional, and financial suffering imposed by back pain.

Spine disorders are one of the most significant health challenges that we face today.  In the United States, around 80% of the population suffers from back pain at some point in their lifetime. Spine disorders alone cost over $100 billion every year — this is more than we spend on cancer care.

These high costs are due to the relatively little known about what causes spine disorders.  We are also not very effective at diagnosing or treating these disorders.  In fact, a conclusive diagnosis is made in less than 15% of patients who are suffering from back pain, and spine surgeries are successful less than 50% of the time.

Put quite simply, we have to do better, and at the Spine Research Institute we are changing the way people think about back pain.