He reckons many of his teachers at Singleton High School and his school mates would find it hard to believe he completed his PhD and recently had one of his research papers published in the prestigious Lancet medical journal.

But its all true Chris is a post-doctoral research fellow based in Newcastle at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI).

Pretty impressive when one considers he never gained a university entrance score when he graduated from Singleton High in 1998.

“I didn’t even think about university at that time. I did a work skill program in my final years doing work experience with local builder Pat King,” he said.

“Then I started a carpentry apprenticeship with Peter Klasen but in my heart of hearts I guess I knew that I wasn’t ever going to be a great builder so I moved to Newcastle and went back to TAFE and gained entry to university that way.”

Chris’s advice to school students thinking about their career choice is simple do something you enjoy because you have to work for 40 to 50 years.

“It may take you sometime to discover what you are passionate about but in the end its worth the wait or the different route you follow to find the right career – but take the time to find the career that suits you,” he said.

Chris’s parents Michael and Sue Williams and his grandparents Geoff and Iris Williams still live in town and it is one of the reasons he and his wife Emma and their two young children chose to move to Newcastle to be closer to their family.

He described growing up in Singleton as idyll and although he says he was never a very good student he enjoyed his schooling first at Singleton Heights Public School then the High School.

Playing rep rugby in high school lead to him eventually playing rugby for the Newcastle Wildfires and then to gaining a rugby union scholarship to study exercise and sports science at Sydney University.

Having gained his initial degree he then completed a Masters of Physiotherapy also through Sydney University and in 2009 he completed his PhD.

His doctoral thesis involved the study of lower back pain. Working at the George Institute for Global Health which is attached to Sydney University Chris along with other researchers undertook a major studying involving 1650 patients.

The study looked at the effects of paracetamol on alleviating acute low back pain.

“Musculoskeletal problems are a leading cause of disability throughout the world and 90 per cent of the population will experience back pain during their lifetime and between 25-35 per cent of the population will require treatment for back pain,” he said.

“Current guidelines for treating acute low back pain universally recommend paracetamol as the first line analgesic.

“But the research showed that the recovery time in our randomised trials was no  different between those who took paracetamol and those that took a placebo.”

Chris said the best advice for someone suffering low back pain would be don’t take to your bed, maintain regular activity and be reassured you will recover.

“Doctors and physiotherapists can provide this advice and carry out thorough assessments of the patients in case there are fractures, infection or cancer but their key role should be that assessment and giving reassurance and advice to their patients,” he said.

“Medication such as paracetamol does not provide the benefits many patients think it does.”

Commenting on back surgery Chris said patients should take the time for very careful consideration before choosing that option.

His current research involves looking at whether things such as a poor diet, inactivity, weight gain, smoking and alcohol consumption increase the risks of back pain and osteoarthritis.

“We don’t know if these factors increase the risks of back pain and if say giving up smoking and lowering your weight lessen the chance of acute low back pain.” he said.

“Also if we can improve people’s diets and lower their weight will that increase the life of knee and hip replacements.”

Chris said chronic diseases such as diabetes are often treated separately to the patient’s back pain or osteoarthritis where both conditions would be better tackled in unison.

“We have ever increasing waiting lists for hip and knee replacements and we have to look at ways to overcome these problems,” he said.

“This may well involve changing diets and increasing activity to lower weight and this may well lessen the need for knee replacements or mean the replacements can be delayed without causing distress to the patient.”

Chris a proud Singletonian was pleased to report he knew of two other 1998 Singleton High School graduates who have also gained a PhD – Daniel Hornery and Sophie Dilworth. 

“I think that shows something about our school and our community,” he said.