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Slate 1
Study Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine Finds Chronic Low Back Pain Patients
Receiving Massage Were Twice as Likely as Those Receiving Usual Care to Report
Significant Improvements In Both Their Pain And Function
Video News Story from American College of Physicians
American College of Physicians
Video Press Kit
For More Information Please Contact:
American College of Physicians
Angela Collom
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acollom@acponline.org
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Slate 2
Courtesy the American College of Physicians,
publisher of Annals of Internal Medicine.
Slate 3
Table of Contents:
Story Description
Interview IDs
Suggested Lead
Full Video Package
:30 Video Package
Additional Soundbites
Additional B-Roll
Funding Information
ACP67 Massage study
D S Simon Productions
212.736.2727
Embargoed Until 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday, July 4th, 2011
Slate 4
Story Description:
Low back pain is one of the most common reasons patients see a physician. The standard
primary care for back pain involves physical therapy and medications, including Non-Steroidal
Anti-Inflammatory medications, muscle relaxants and sometimes opiods. However, for those
suffering from chronic low back pain the best treatment may be massage, according to a study
published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The study found patients receiving massage were twice as likely as those receiving standard
care to report significant improvements in both their pain and function. After 10 weeks,
approximately two-thirds of those receiving massage improved substantially, versus only
one-third of those receiving standard care.
There were also lifestyle benefits for massage recipients in the study including less use of pain
medications and a decrease in the number of days of limited activity due to low back pain.
There were over 400 patients suffering from chronic low back pain in the study. They were
assigned to one of three groups: those receiving standard care, those receiving relaxation
massage that is intended to induce general relaxation and those receiving structural massage
that is intended to identify and ease contributors to back pain. Treatment lasted 10 weeks. More
than 33 percent of the patients in the massage groups reported that their back pain was much
better or completely gone compared with only four percent in the usual care group.
Those results were still seen after 26 weeks, which may have implications for low back pain
patients staying healthy.
D S Simon Productions
212.736.2727
ACP67 Massage study
Embargoed Until 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday, July 4th, 2011
Slate 5
Suggested lead: Is massage more effective than standard physician care in treating chronic
low back pain? A study published in the Annals of Internal medicine has the surprising answer.
Slate 6
Full Video Package
(1) Announcer: Low back pain is one of the
most common reasons patients see a physician.
And, for many of these cases, the best treatment
may be massage, according to a study
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Daniel Cherkin
Group Health Research Institute
Lead Study Author
(2) Dr. Daniel Cherkin: We found that patients
receiving massage were twice as likely as those
receiving usual care to report significant
improvements in both their pain and function.
After 10 weeks, about two-thirds of those
receiving massage improved substantially,
versus only about one-third of those receiving
usual care.
(3) Announcer: There were also lifestyle
benefits including less use of pain medications.
(4) Dr. Daniel Cherkin: Patients who received
massage therapy were more likely to report
decreases in the number of days of limited
activity due to their back pain, and were also
more likely to report, reductions in their use of
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory medications.
(5) Announcer: Over 400 patients suffering
from chronic low back pain participated in the
study. They were assigned to one of three
groups: those receiving standard care, //those
receiving relaxation massage that is intended to
induce general relaxation and those receiving
structural massage that is intended to identify
and ease contributors to back pain. Treatment
lasted 10 weeks.
ACP67 Massage study
D S Simon Productions
212.736.2727
Embargoed Until 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday, July 4th, 2011
(6) Dr. Daniel Cherkin: More than a third of the
patients in the massage groups reported that
their back pain was much better or completely
gone, and this compared with only 4 percent,
reporting this in the usual care group.
(7) Announcer: Those results were still seen
after 26 weeks, which may have implications for
low back pain patients staying healthy.
Sharon Berry
Study Participant
(8) Sharon Berry: What I found after my
massage therapy is I have had very few
episodes of lower back pain.
(9) Dr. Daniel Cherkin: The importance of this
study is that it provides evidence that massage
is an effective treatment option for people with
persistent back pain. In addition, it shows that
both the relaxation and the more focused
structural forms of massage had equivalent
beneficial effects compared to usual care.
(10) Announcer: For more information go to
annals.org
Slate 7
:30 Video Package
(1) Announcer: Low back pain is one of the
most common reasons patients see a physician.
And, for many of these cases, the best treatment
may be massage, according to a study
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Daniel Cherkin
Group Health Research Institute
Lead Study Author
(2) Dr. Cherkin: We found that patients
receiving massage were twice as likely as those
receiving usual care to report significant
improvements in both their pain and function.
After 10 weeks, about two-thirds of those
receiving massage improved substantially,
versus only about one-third of those receiving
usual care.
(3) Announcer: For more information go to
annals.org
D S Simon Productions
212.736.2727
ACP67 Massage study
Embargoed Until 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday, July 4th, 2011
Slate 8
Additional Soundbites
Dr. Daniel Cherkin
Group Health Research Institute
Lead Study Author
The standard primary care for back pain involves medications, particularly Non-Steroidal
Anti-Inflammatory medications, but also muscle relaxants and sometimes opiods, and also
physical therapy is often recommended.
Christine Conrad
Study Participant
Compared to previous treatments for back pain, massage therapy has probably been the thing
that made the big, biggest difference for me.
Slate 10
Additional B-roll
Slate 11
Courtesy the American College of Physicians,
Publisher of Annals of Internal Medicine.
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