CLEAR
CURRENT:
57°
 
World | City/Wachusett | North | South & West | East & Valley | Photos | On the Common | Living | Etc. | Health | Food | Court | Opinion
 
  Print this Article
  E-Mail this Article
 
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Writer wins award

Clinton woman pens back pain book

By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Picture

Gloria Parkinson, Clinton, won an award for her book on back pain. (KAREN NUGENT)
Enlarge photo



CLINTON—
Gloria Parkinson decided not to attend the American Medical Writers Association’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., this week, even though she was to receive an award for a book on back pain she wrote with a Boston rheumatologist.

She figured they’d send the award in the mail as a rolled-up diploma-like item in a tube. So she was a bit taken aback when a large white box arrived at her Haskell Avenue home a few weeks ago. Inside was the award — already mounted and framed.

Ms. Parkinson, 64, and her co-author, Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz, won honorable mention in the health care consumer category. There was one first-place winner, the author of a book about vaccinations. The association, formed in 1940, has more than 5,400 members worldwide, including reporters, professors, and researchers. Book awards are given each year in three categories, and an award one year was given to well-known medical novelist and filmmaker Michael Crichton.“I feel slightly humbled, because like an Oscar (Academy Award) it’s from a jury of your peers,” Ms. Parkinson said.Now her problem is where to hang the plaque. She is a native of Liverpool, England, and her home is very “British.” Books line the walls from floor to ceiling in her front room — there are no televisions, radios or computers, just big stuffed chairs and a few small tables. Whatever wall space is left is covered with paintings and antique photographs, two depicting people from Clinton.


The book, “Heal Your Aching Back,” was published last February 2007 by McGraw-Hill. Dr. Katz, an associate professor of medicine and orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, was paired with Ms. Parkinson, a Harvard graduate and science writer, by the director of Harvard’s Health Publications. Ms. Parkinson, who has written several medical articles for Harvard, most recently on allergies, said such collaborations between a doctor or scientist and a professional writer are common in medical writing. She worked with Dr. Katz previously on a lengthy article on back pain, so the book was a natural progression.

Mr. Parkinson said she was surprised to learn that 80 percent of the U.S. population suffers back pain at some point. And when she developed sciatica, a painful back and leg condition probably triggered by roughhousing with a new puppy, she was able to flip through her own book to find out what to do.

“I found the exercises, and I was able to know the timeline it would take,” she said.

The 245-page paperback deals with everything from the causes of back pain, to treatment and pain relievers, to diagnoses and anatomy of the spine, a chapter Ms. Parkinson said was difficult to write for an average reader.

“It’s not the one chapter everyone goes to look at,” she said. “I ended up using a metaphor of an elevator system in a big top-notch hotel. If anything is off, the whole system will be messed up.”

The book, which has plenty of diagrams, charts and exercise tips, devotes a chapter to complementary therapies such as yoga, magnets, tai chi, acupuncture and meditation. It also delivers a warning about some pitfalls and dangers of chiropractic manipulation.

Ms. Parkinson, who, besides leading the recent effort for the town’s purchase of the 60-acre Rauscher Farm for open space, is an elected library trustee, said it took nine months to do the writing.

She would record talks with Dr. Katz, who is the co-director of the Brigham Spine Center in Boston, about information for the book, and write drafts that he would edit, and Ms. Parkinson would rewrite in a way that would not sound like a textbook.

“The doctor’s first job is to educate. I’m the average reader in the beginning,” she said.

A thorough outline is always her first step, she said, to keep a book flowing. Then she tries to weed out myths, although she acknowledged that some are worth mentioning.

Describing herself as a “gregarious hermit,” Ms. Parkinson said she deals with all of her activities — writing, raising money for the farm, the library trustee post, and performing in theater, another love — all in the same way.

“I like collaborating, but I have to be on my own at some point. I am creative at something I believe will be beneficial, that people will have the option to visit, or read, or see the play. But it has to be something I believe in,” she said.

In the book’s introduction, Dr. Katz describes a back sprain he got in 1984, during a basketball game. At the time, he hobbled around slowly for weeks because of pain. He has since found out, and it’s in the book, that the type of “garden variety back pain” he suffered responds better to activity, and eventually takes care of itself in a matter of weeks.

Dr. Katz also praises Ms. Parkinson as an “exceptionally talented writer.”

“Permit me to tell you that she is also dedicated, kind, witty, and wonderfully good company,” he said in the acknowledgements.






 
MECHANICMechanic position. looking for air-brakes & truck ...
GARAGE DOOR INSTALLER Wanted Great pay / benefits. Experienced preferred. ...
EARLY CHILDHOOD CAREER ADVISOR With 1-3 yrs of experience in teaching or ...
TELEMARKING SALES Worcester manufacturer seeks PT sales support 20- ...
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT $15 - $18 per hour International Firm needs top ...
HEATING TECH - Must have all certifications. Rapidily growing company. ...
Receptionist / Secretary Seven Hills Family Services Job Code: 11240-87.2-1024 ...
FOOD SERVICE WORKERS Westborough - Grill Cook - Deli Prep - Dishwasher. ...
AUTO DAMAGE APPRAISERMinimum 3 yrs exp with Auto & Heavy equip. CCC est. ...
PROGRAMMER / OPERATOR for HAAS and HITACHI SEIKI CNC Lathes. Please ...
More great jobs at
WorcesterWorks.com


Employers Advertise Here


News | Entertainment | RSS | Personals | Corrections | Weather | Company Store | Privacy Policy | Submissions Policy | Contact us

© Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

Order the Telegram & Gazette, delivered daily to your home or office!