The rest, serving as controls, will not join the discussion until the final year of the study. To gauge whether membership in the online group makes a difference, the researchers will ask participants to fill out semiannual questionnaires evaluating their back condition and tallying their doctor visits and workdays missed because of back pain. Back pain is one of the leading reasons people see a doctor, Lorig said. Beyond ruling out serious conditions like a tumor, doctors usually can't go beyond a generic diagnosis, she added. Nor can physicians offer any easy cures.
Recovery tends to be gradual, and relapses are common.
The study is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Volunteers with recurring lower back pain are still needed for the study, which is scheduled to start in late October or early November. Prospective participants must have seen a doctor for back pain in the last year and must expect to have access to e-mail for the next three years.