Mr Jeremy Fairbank is Professor of Spinal Surgery at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, and Musculoskeletal Sciences and he has recently retired as a spinal surgeon from the Spinal Unit, Oxford University Hospitals. Mr Fairbank completed his undergraduate training at Cambridge University and St. Thomas Hospital Medical School, London. Mr Fairbank completed a spine fellowship at Oswestry, where he wrote his MD thesis on the facet joint. He also undertook a 6-month fellowship in Dallas, Texas. Mr Fairbank published the Oswestry Disability Index in 1980, which has become a commonly used outcome measure in spinal disorders. He also led and developed the MRC Spine Stabilisation Trial, comparing the outcome of intensive rehabilitation versus spinal fusion in the management of chronic lower back pain.