NASS International: Forty Years as the Backbone of Global Spine Care
From early alliances to worldwide impact, NASS has spent four decades connecting spine specialists, advancing care, and strengthening the global spine community.
Since its founding, NASS has looked beyond borders to advance the science and practice of spine care. From early collaborations with international societies and joint meetings like Spine Across the Sea, to its stewardship of the World Spine Society and humanitarian outreach through SCRUBBs, NASS has consistently sought to share knowledge and expand access across continents. While the path has included both bold breakthroughs and periods of recalibration, the Society’s commitment to global engagement remains clear — most recently seen in the resurgence of large-scale international meetings and strategic partnerships abroad. As NASS celebrates its 40th anniversary, this moment offers an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of its international efforts and to chart a course for the future of global collaboration in spine care.
Spine Across the Sea: Cultural & Clinical Exchange
NASS’ first formalized international collaboration came in 1994 with a joint meeting in Hawaii alongside the Japanese Spine Research Society. Spine Across the Sea immediately became a triennially recurring program, hosted by various resorts in the Hawaiian Islands throughout its 30-year history. These meetings set the stage for NASS to engage more deeply with the global spine community. They created opportunities for East-West knowledge exchanged and cultivated lasting institutional relationships.
The success of this model led to NASS developing collaborative meetings with other organizations, including The Meeting of the Americas gatherings held in Miami and New York in conjunction with the American Pain Society alongside Latin American and Brazilian spine organizations.
