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Key Publications in Alternative Approaches to Healing

Study Examples | Key Publications | Intro

A few key publications are listed below:

This study contributes new information about how acupuncturists are trained and provide care. This information, based on interviews of randomly selected licensed acupuncturists in Massachusetts and Washington, should be useful to clinicians interested in learning more about complementary or alternative medical therapies available to their patients.

—Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Eisenberg DM, Erro J, Hrbek A, Deyo RA (2005). The practice of acupuncture: who are the providers and what do they do? Annals of Family Medicine, 3 (2): 151–158.

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What might a primary care-based optimal healing environment look like for chronic low back pain? This study presents a research protocol that could evaluate the effect of such an environment on a variety of important patient and clinician outcomes. Such an environment would have three major components: where the primary care team works; the team’s cognitive, technical, clinical, and organizational skills; and the "healing" skills of the team members, particularly the primary care physician.

—Cherkin D, Sherman K (2004). Conceptualization and evaluation of an optimal healing environment for chronic low back pain in primary care. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10 (suppl 1): S171–178.

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Back pain is the most common reason people use complementary and alternative medical therapies, but little is known about how willing primary care patients with back pain are to try them. In this study, most patients with chronic back pain were interested in trying therapeutic options outside the conventional medical spectrum. Clinical trials should evaluate their effectiveness; and researchers conducting these trials may not have trouble recruiting patients.

—Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Connelly MT, Erro J, Savetsky JB, Davis RB, Eisenberg DM (2004). Complementary and alternative medical therapies for chronic low back pain: what treatments are patients willing to try? BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4 (1): 9.

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Massage has been found to be effective for persistent back pain; spinal manipulation has small clinical benefits; and acupuncture’s effectiveness remains unclear. All three treatments seem relatively safe. Preliminary evidence suggests that an initial course of therapy, massage—but not acupuncture or spinal manipulation—may reduce the costs of subsequent back care.

—Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Deyo RA, Shekelle PG (2003). A review of the evidence for the effectiveness, safety, and cost of acupuncture, massage therapy, and spinal manipulation for back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine, 138 (11): 898–906.

Study Examples | Key Publications | Intro

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