NEWSPIX

Antony Scholefield A GP who was Tasmania ’ s

oldest working doctor when

and it is very , very difficult to dismantle what you have built up ,” he said at the time .

He died , aged 96 , last month at New Norfolk District Hospital , the place he worked

with his practice until his retirement .

The head of Corumbene

he retired in his 90s has died

“ Nothing would prevent

after first moving to Tasmania

aged care home , where Dr

at the hospital where he began

me , if I had the opportunity

back in 1968 .

Peters spent his last few

his career .

again , from being in general

He said he made the move

years , told The Mercury that

Dr Ralph Peters told Aus-

practice .”

from South Africa to Australia

Dr Peters had been “ humble ,

tralian Doctor in 2019 that he

Over 51 years as a doctor

after seeing an advertise-

dignified , approachable , kind

had retired “ unexpectedly ”,

in Tasmania , Dr Peters wit-

ment in The BMJ for a hospi-

[ and ] warm-hearted ”.

aged 92 , because of his risk of

nessed the transformative

tal RMO .

“ He was the sort of person

falls , which was “ extremely

changes of access to imaging

Three years later , he

everyone loved .

Dr Ralph Peters ( left ) with his practice colleague , Dr Micheil Sweet , in 2019 .

tough emotionally ”. “ I developed a strong rapport with my patients ,

technology , the rise of genetics and cures for hepatitis C .

founded his general practice in a vacant premises on hospital grounds , staying

“ It was a pleasure to play a part in caring for him in his last years .”

Rachel Fieldhouse MOST adults with acute low

back pain can expect “ substantial

improvements ” within

six weeks of symptom onset ,

Australian researchers report .

But many patients , particularly

those with persistent low

back pain , will have ongoing

pain and disability , which the

University of SA-led team says

highlights the need for better

treatments .

Their review and meta-

analysis included 95 studies

and some 19,000 patients , with

low back pain defined as acute

( less than six weeks ), subacute

( 6-12 weeks ) or persistent

( longer than 12 weeks ).

Initially , the acute low back

pain cohort saw a large reduction

in pain and disability

score , with low-intensity pain

and disability persisting up to

52 weeks .

Those with sub-acute low

back pain also experienced

a similar “ but less favourable

” trajectory , and the initial

reduction in pain was smaller

than in the acute pain group .

Pain scores also increased over

time in this cohort .

In contrast , pain scores

were consistently high among

those with persistent pain , and

moderate disability persisted

over the study period .

Writing in the Canadian

Medical Association Journal ,

they said : “ Our findings … support

the need for timely reassessment

within the first 12

weeks after an episode of low

back pain to identify and escalate

care among those recovering

slowly .”

Lead author Dr Lorimer

Moseley ( PhD ) said the results

showed that low back pain

may not disappear completely

— even after the initial injury

had healed .

“ In these situations , back

pain is associated with pain

system hypersensitivity , not

ongoing back injury ,” he said .

“ If you have chronic back

pain — back pain on most days

for more than a few months —

then it is time to take a new

approach .” CMAJ 2024 ; 22 Jan .

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