1. Provide the title of your story or series and the names of the journalists involved.
The Do-Nothing Cure by Laurie Tarkan
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
JULY-AUGUST 2010 issue of VIV magazine
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
An estimated 26 million Americans suffer from back pain. While doctors have treated back pain for decades with surgeries, research shows that this is no better, and sometimes worse, than low-tech treatments. On the flip side, research shows that many people who suffer from back pain do NOT receive treatment that does work. This feature takes a close look at simple treatments that do work to help
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Pain Foundation documentation SPINE Journal/yoga research American Pain Society guidelines American College of Physicians guidelines Archives of Internal Medicine/acupuncture research
5. Explain types of human sources used.
Tim Carey, M.D., Director of Sheps Center for Health Services Research, Univ. of North Carolina Donald R. Murphy,DC, chiropractor, clinical director of Rhode Island Spine Center Roger Chou, M.D., Assoc Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University Sohial Mirza, M.D., Professor of Orthopaedics, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
6. Results (if any).
None
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Back pain is common and so it's a recurring health story so it's tempting to latch on to one-size- fits-all solutions, but it's much smarter to consider the different kinds of back pain and what has been proven effective. To get a dimensional story takes a lot of research and interviews with a variety of experts.