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Hanne Albert, PT, MPH, PhD

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Hanne Albert, PT, MPH, PhD

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Adjunct Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Rush Medical College

Adjunct Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery

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Physiotherapist, Metropolitan University College, Copenhagen, Denmark
Master of Public Health, The Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg, Sweden
PhD, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Science Innovator Post Doc, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Hanne Albert, PT, MPH, PhD, is a renowned researcher specializing in low back and pelvic pain. Her research consistently aims to achieve immediate clinical applicability, with the objective of advancing diagnostic approaches and improving treatment practices in real-time clinical settings.
Albert was born and raised in Denmark. She completed her physiotherapy education at The Metropolitan University College in Copenhagen and began her career as a physiotherapist at the Neurosurgical Ward of Odense University Hospital. During this tenure, she developed a profound interest in the treatment of back pain and lumbar disc herniations, laying the foundation for her later contributions to the field.
Albert subsequently joined the Gynecology Ward at Odense University Hospital, where she pioneered a psychosomatic treatment approach for women with chronic pelvic pain. She thereafter did innovative work extended to a landmark study on pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy and postpartum, involving 2,269 pregnant women. The study included comprehensive examinations during pregnancy and multiple follow-ups postpartum, leading to the development of a novel classification system identifying four distinct pain patterns. These findings, which revealed differences in incidence, clinical characteristics, and prognoses among the groups, earned her a role as a contributing author to the European Guidelines for Pelvic Girdle Pain.
Following this, Albert served as a clinical lecturer in physiotherapy at Odense University Hospital for five years and also taught statistics and supervised bachelor theses at University College Lillebaelt, Denmark. In 2000, she joined the Research Department at The Back Centre in Ringe, Denmark, where she challenged the prevailing assumption that lumbar disc herniations always required surgical intervention. Her groundbreaking PhD research demonstrated the efficacy of conservative treatments for lumbar disc herniation.
Her doctoral studies yielded two groundbreaking findings. Firstly, she demonstrated that Modic changes—distinct alterations in vertebral bone marrow—occur in approximately 50% of patients following lumbar disc herniation and represent the most painful subset of back disorders.
Secondly, she introduced a novel and paradigm-shifting hypothesis, positing that Modic changes may result from bacterial infections and could be effectively treated with prolonged antibiotic therapy. Subsequent investigations provided robust evidence supporting this innovative therapeutic approach. Notably, her randomized controlled trial (RCT) establishing the treatment's efficacy became highest ranking and the most downloaded article in the European Spine Journal in 2013.
This novel pathogenetic pathway also earned her the distinguished German Pain Prize. Her discovery has revolutionized the management of severely disabled patients with chronic back pain, offering a new and highly effective treatment modality.
After completing her postdoctoral studies, Albert was appointed Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark. She later became Medical Director of The Modic Clinic in Odense, Denmark, where she continued to refine her approaches to treating spinal conditions.
In 2023, Albert was appointed Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush University, further solidifying her position as a global leader in her field.
- 2003: The Danish physiotherapist Award. From The Danish Physiotherapists organisation.
  For original and innovative research with immediate clinical relevance.
- 2004: The Columna Prize. From The Danish Society of Musculoskeletal Medicine.
  For comprehensive clinical research in women with pelvic pain related to pregnancy and after delivery, and extensive educational effort to implement this knew knowledge in all groups of health professionals.
- 2005: The Award for Best research project. From European Spine society. “Modic changes after a disc herniation in the lumbar spine” at The European Spine Conference in Barcelona
- 2013: The most downloaded scientific paper in 2013 in European Spine journal. Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone oedema (Modic Type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized clinical controlled trial of efficacy.
- 2017: The German Pain Prize. From Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Schmertzmedicin and Deutsche Schmertsliga.
  For changing the pain-medical way of thinking with lasting effect of her pioneering work and has created a new source of understanding of chronic back pain. In addition to mechanical and psychosomatic mechanisms of pain perception, an inflammatory-bacterial process has been bought into focus of the differential diagnosis of back pain. Albert has been working on this topic for decades, and her reputation is international. She has made a lasting contribution to pain medicine research and its application and the affected patients.
- Albert H. Does workload lead to disc herniation? Danish Physiotherapists. 1986;27:4-11.
- Albert H. Group treatment for parents with a still born child, The Physiotherapists. (Norway),1990;57:24-6.
- Albert H. The Danish Physiotherapists association study of the possibilities for Danish physiotherapists to do research. News about research. 1994;3:19-23.
- Albert H, Godskesen M, Westergaard JG, Chard T, Gunn L. Circulating levels of relaxin are normal in pregnant women with pelvic pain. Eur J obstet Gynecol Reproductive biology 1997;74:19-22.
- Albert H. Psychosomatic group treatment helps women with chronic pelvic pain. J Psychosom Obstret Gynecol 1999;20:216-25.
- Albert H, Winkel A. The Danish association of Physiotherapists research foundation a study of the significance of the foundation. News about research, 1999;(1):12-7.
- Albert H, Relaxin and pelvic/low-back pain in pregnant women. Theory and Praxis, A report from The FoU Unit in LRS. 1999;4:15.
- Albert H, Godskesen M, Westergaard JG. Evaluation of clinical tests used in classification procedures in pregnancy-related pelvic joint pain. Eur Spine J 2000;9:161-6.
- Albert HB. When the soul gives pain to the body. Danish physiotherapists. [Danish] 2000;20:8-13.
- Albert HB, Godskesen M, Westergaard JG. Prognosis of four classification groups of pregnancy-related pelvic joint pain. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2001;80:505-10.
- Hovman B, Lund H, Albert H, Winkel A. How to write and evaluate a case rapport. News about research. 2001;1:10-3.
- Albert HB, Godskesen M, Westergaard JG. Incidence of four syndromes of pregnancy-related pelvic joint pain. Spine. 2002;27:2831-4.
- Albert HB. Treatment of pelvic and low back pain in pregnant and post partum women. Musculoskeletal Forum. 2002;2:16-21.
- Albert H. Reviews does not help the clinicians. There is a need for a symptom-based classification of patients with back pain. The Physiotherapist. 2002;7:10-3.
- Albert H. Thermal treatment relieves pain. (Translation of English original paper). The physiotherapists. 2002;14:20-21.
- Albert HB, Jensen AM, Dahl D, Rasmussen MN. [Criteria validation of the Roland Morris questionnaire. A Danish translation of the international scale for the assessment of functional level in patients with low back pain and sciatica]. Ugeskr Laeger 2003;165:1875-80. [Danish]
- Sorensen JS, Albert HB, Manniche C. [Unexpected MRI findings in patients with sciatica] Ugeskr Laeger. 2004;166:3207-8. [Danish].
- Albert HB. Conservative treatment of patients with sciatica- a randomized controlled trial. [Dissertation] Odense: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark; 2004. [Danish]
- Vleeming A, Albert HB, Ostgaard HC, Stuge B, Sturesson B. European guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic girdle pain. http://www.backpaineurope.org
- Jensen TS, Albert HB, Soerensen JS et al. Natural course of disc morphology in patients with sciatica: an MRI study using a standardized qualitative classification system. Spine 2006;31:1605-12.
- Albert HB, Godskesen M, Korsholm L, Westergaard JG. Risk Factors in developing Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Girdle Pain. Acta Obstetrica et Gynecologica 2006;85:539-44.
- Kjær P, Albert HB, Jensen T et al. Rygsmerter, radiologi og endepladeforandringer ad modum Modic. Ugeskrift for læger. 2006;168:1668.
- Andreasen ML, Langhoff L, Jensen TS, Albert HB. Reproduction of the Lumbar Lordosis: A Comparison of Standing Radiographs versus Supine MRI obtained with Straightened Lower Extremities. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2007;30:26-30.
- Jensen TS, Albert HB, Sorensen JS, Manniche C, Leboeuf-Yde C. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings as Predictors of Clinical Outcome in Patients with Sciatica Receiving Active Conservative Treatment. J Manip Ther Phys, 2007;30:98-108.
- Albert HB, Manniche C. Modic changes following lumbar disc herniation. Eur Spine J. 2007;16:977-82. Epub 2007 Mar 3.
- Vleeming A, Albert HB, Ostgaard HC, Sturesson B, Stuge B. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18259783 European guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic girdle pain. Eur Spine J. 2008 Jun;17(6):794-819. Epub 2008 Feb 8. Review.
- Albert HB, Manniche C, Sorensen JS. Deleuran BW. Antibiotic treatment in patients with low-back pain associated with Modic changes Type 1 (bone oedema): a pilot study. Br J Sports Med. 2008:42:969-73. Epub 2008 Aug 21.
- Albert HB, Kjaer P, Jensen TS, Sorensen JS, Bendix T, Manniche C Modic changes, possible causes and relation to low back pain. Med Hypotheses. 2008;70:361-8. Epub 2007 Jul 10.
- Masharawi YM, Peleg S, Albert HB, Dar G, Steingberg N, Medlej B, Abbas J, Salame K, Mirovski Y, Peled N, Hershkovitz I Facet asymmetry in normal vertebral growth: characterization and etiologic theory of scoliosis. Spine 2008;33:898-902.
- Thomsen K, Albert H, Warren M, Groby L. Ortopædkirurgi for ergoterapeuter og fysioterapeuter; Ryg og bækken, 359-404. Munksgaard, København, 2009.
- Albert H, Pedersen H, Manniche C, Høilund-Carlsen PF. PET imaging in patients with Modic changes. Nuklearmedizin. 2009;48(3):110-2. Epub 2009 Mar 23.
- Albert HB, Manniche C. The efficacy of systematic active conservative treatment for patients with severe sciatica. A single-blind randomized clinical controlled trial. Spine 2012;37:531-42.
- Albert HB, Briggs AM, Kent P, Byrhagen A, Hansen C, Kjaergaard K. The prevalence of MRI-defined spinal pathoanatomies and their association with Modic changes in individuals seeking care for low back pain. Eur Spine J. 2011;20:1355-62. Epub 2011 May 5.
- Morsø L, Kent PM, Albert HB. Are Self-reported Pain Characteristics, Classified Using the PainDETECT Questionnaire, Predictive of Outcome in People with Low Back Pain and Associated Leg Pain? Clin J Pain. 2011;27:535-41.
- Morsø L, Albert H, Kent P, Manniche C, Hill J. Translation and discriminative validation of the STarT Back Screening Tool into Danish. Clin J Pain. 2011;27:535-41.
- Kent P, Briggs AM, Albert HB, Byrhagen A, Hansen C, Kjaergaard K, Jensen TS. Inexperienced clinicians can extract pathoanatomic information from MRI narrative reports with high reproducibility for use in research/quality assurance. Chiropr Man Therap. 2011;19:16
- Albert HB, Hauge E, Manniche C. Centralization in patients with sciatica: are pain responses to repeated movement and positioning associated with outcome or types of disc lesions? Eur Spine J. 2012;21:630-6. Epub 2011 Sep 23
- Albert HB, Bækkensmerter i graviditeten - forekomst, prognose, risikofaktorer og diagnostisering. Best Practice. [Danish] 2012;6:23-25.
- Kongsted A, Kent P, Albert H, Jensen TS, Manniche C. Patients with low back pain differ from those who also have leg pain or signs of nerve root involvement - a cross-sectional study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2012 Nov. 28;13:236. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-13-236
- Morsø L, Kent P, Albert HB, Manniche C. Is the psychosocial profile of people with low back pain seeking care in Danish primary care different from those in secondary care? Man Ther. 2012 Jul 31. [Epub ahead of print]
- Albert HB, Sorensen JS, Christensen BS, Manniche C. Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic Type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized clinical controlled trial of efficacy. Eur Spine J. 2013;22:697-707. Epub 2013 Feb 13.
- Albert HB, Lambert P, Rollason J, Sorensen JS, Worthington T, Pedersen MB, Nørgaard HS, Vernallis A, Busch F, Manniche S, Elliott T. Is nuclear tissue infected with bacteria following disc herniations which leads to Modic changes in the adjacent vertebrae? Eur Spine J. 2013;22:690-6. Epub 2013 Feb 10.
- Morsø L, Kent P, Albert HB, Hill JC, Kongsted A, Manniche C. The predictive and external validity of the STarT Back Tool in Danish primary care. Eur Spine J. 2013 Feb 10.
- Myburgh C, Brandborg-Olsen D, Albert H, Hestbaek L. The Nordic maintenance care program: what is maintenance care? Interview based survey of Danish chiropractors. Chiropr Man Therap. 2013 Aug 20;21(1):27.
- Kongsted A, Kent P, Jensen TS, Albert H, Manniche C. Prognostic implications of the Quebec Task Force classification of back-related leg pain: an analysis of longitudinal routine clinical data. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2013 May 24;14(1):171. [Epub ahead of print]
- Albert HB, Manniche C. Answer to the letter to the editor of Svend Lings entitled antibiotics for low back pain? concerning antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy by Albert HB et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707.
- Lambert P, Albert HB. Answer to the Letter to the Editor of Zafar Ahmad et al. concerning Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy by Albert HB et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707. Eur Spine J. 2013 Oct;22(10):2346-7.
- Albert HB. Answer to the Letter to the Editor of K. Shubhakaran et al. entitled Backache and infection concerning Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy by Albert H.B. et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707. Eur Spine J. 2013 Oct;22(10):2349. doi: 10.1007/s00586-013-2984-1.
- Albert HB. Answer to the Editorial of J. O'Dowd and A. Casey. Eur Spine J. 2013 Aug;22(8):1698-9.
- Albert HB. Answer to the Letter to the Editor of Benjamin John Floyd Dean entitled Do these results apply to the 'intervention naive' patient? concerning Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy by Albert HB et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707.Eur Spine J. 2013 Aug;22(8):1703.
- Rollason J, McDowell A, Albert HB, Barnard E, Worthington T, Hilton AC, Vernallis A, Patrick S, Elliott T, Lambert P. Genotypic and Antimicrobial Characterisation of Propionibacterium acnes Isolates from Surgically Excised Lumbar Disc Herniations. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:530382. doi: 10.1155/2013/530382. Epub 2013 Aug 28.
- Albert HB. Answer to the Letter to the Editor of Benjamin John Floyd Dean et al. entitled No conflict of interest? concerning Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy by Albert HB et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707. Eur Spine J. 2013 Aug;22(8):1701.
- Albert HB. Answer to the letter to the editor of A. Sotto et al. concerning Antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy by Albert HB et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707. Eur Spine J. 2013 Aug;22(8):1706.
- Morsø L, Kent P, Manniche C, Albert HB. The predictive ability of the STarT Back Screening Tool in a Danish secondary care setting. Eur Spine J. 2014 Jan;23(1):120-8. doi: 10.1007/s00586-013-2861-y. Epub 2013 Jun 21.
- Rollason J, McDowell A, Albert HB, Barnard E, Worthington T, Hilton AC, Vernallis A, Patrick S, Elliott T, Lambert P. Genotypic and antimicrobial characterisation of Propionibacterium acnes isolates from surgically excised lumbar disc herniations. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:530382. doi: 10.1155/2013/530382. Epub 2013 Aug. 28.
- Kent P, Mirkhil S, Keating J, Buchbinder R, Manniche C, Albert HB. The concurrent validity of brief screening questions for anxiety, depression, social isolation, catastrophizing, and fear of movement in people with low back pain. Clin J Pain. 2014 Jun;30(6):479-89.
- Kent P, Grotle M, Dunn KM, Albert HB, Lauridsen HH. Rasch analysis of the 23-item version of the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire. J Rehabil Med. 2015 Apr 7;47(4):356-64. doi: 10.2340/16501977-1935.
- Oliveira VC, Ferreira ML, Morso L, Albert HB, Refshauge KM, Ferreira PH. Patients' perceived level of social isolation affects the prognosis of low back pain. Eur J Pain. 2015 Apr;19(4):538-45. doi: 10.1002/ejp.578. Epub 2014 Sep 3.
- Kent P, Kongsted A, Jensen TS, Albert HB, Schiøttz-Christensen B, Manniche C. SpineData - a Danish clinical registry of people with chronic back pain. Clin Epidemiol. 2015 Aug 13;7:369-80. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S83830.
- Jensen RK, Kjaer P, Jensen TS, Albert H, Kent P. Degenerative Pathways of Lumbar Motion Segments--A Comparison in Two Samples of Patients with Persistent Low Back Pain. PLoS One. 2016 Jan 25;11(1):e0146998. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146998
- Kent P, Boyle E, Keating JL, Albert HB, Hartvigsen J. Four hundred or more participants needed for stable contingency table estimates of clinical prediction rule performance. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017 Feb;82:137-148. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.10.004.
- Albert HB. Antibiotic treatment of patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes. A phase 4 quality-controlled study. Smertzmedicin 2017:33(2) 49-52.
- Backhausen MG, Tabor A, Albert H, Rosthøj S, Damm P, Hegaard HK. The effects of an unsupervised water exercise program on low back pain and sick leave among healthy pregnant women - A randomized controlled trial. PLoS One [06 Sep 2017, 12(9):e0182114].
- Albert HB, Hansen JK, Søgaard H, Kent P. Where do patients with MRI-confirmed single level radiculopathy experience pain, and what is the clinical interpretation of these pain patterns? A cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study. Chiropr Man Therap. 2019 Oct 7;27:50. doi: 10.1186/s12998-019-0273-8. eCollection 2019
- Hornung AL, Baker JD, Mallow GM, Sayari AJ, Albert HB, Tkachev A, An HS, Samartzis D. Resorption of Lumbar Disk Herniation: Mechanisms, Clinical Predictors, and Future Directions. JBJS Rev. 2023 Jan 4;11(1). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.RVW.22.00148. eCollection 2023 Jan 1. PMID: 36722839 Review.
- Hornung AL, Barajas JN, Rudisill SS, Aboushaala K, Butler A, Park G, Harada G, Leonard S, Roberts A, An HS, Epifanov A, Albert HB, Tkachev A, Samartzis D. Prediction of lumbar disc herniation resorption in symptomatic patients: a prospective, multi-imaging and clinical phenotype study. Spine J. 2023 Feb;23(2):247-260. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2022.10.003. Epub 2022 Oct 13. PMID: 36243388
- Albert HB, Sayari AJ, Barajas JN, Hornung AL, Harada G, Nolte MT, Chee AV, Samartzis D, Tkachev A. European Spine Journal, 15 December 2023. The impact of novel inflammation-preserving treatment towards lumbar disc herniation resorption in symptomatic patients: a prospective, multi-imaging and clinical outcomes study.
- Alexander L. Hornung, Samuel S. Rudisill, J. Nicolas Barajas, Garrett Harada, Ashlyn A. Fitch, Skylar F. Leonard, Ashley C. Roberts, Howard S. Ann, Hanne B. Albert, Alexander Tkachev, Dino Samartzis. How Does Resorption Differ Among Single-Level and Multilevel Lumbar Disc Herniations? A Prospective Multi-Imaging and Clinical Phenotype Study. SPINE Vol 49, No 11, 763–771.
- Khaled Aboushaala, Ana V. Chee, Darbaz Adnan, Sheila J. Toro, Harmanjeet Singh, Andrew Savoia, Ekamjeet S. Dhillon, Catherine Yuh, Jake Dourdourekas, Ishani K. Patel, Rajko Vucicevic, Alejandro A. Espinoza-Orias, John T. Martin, Chundo Oh, Ali Keshavarzian, Hanne B. Albert, Jaro Karppinen, Mehmet Kocak, Arnold Y. L. Wong, Edward J. Goldberg, Frank M. Phillips, Matthew W. Colman, Frances M. K. Williams, Jeffrey A. Borgia, Ankur Naqib, Stefan J. Green, Christopher B. Forsyth, Howard S. An, Dino Samartzis. Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis in symptomatic patients. JOR Spine. First published: 10 October 2024.

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