How can we harness the mind-body connection to enhance healing? An expert in complementary and alternative medicine, Karen Sherman investigates this question with a practical yet sophisticated approach—using rigorous epidemiological methods to test alternative therapies delivered in a manner consistent with real-world practice.

Much of Dr. Sherman's research focuses on evaluating complementary and alternative treatments for musculoskeletal conditions. In 2005, she published groundbreaking findings showing that yoga is effective treatment for chronic back pain. The largest study of yoga for back pain at that time, it was among the first hatha yoga trials published in a major medical journal. Dr. Sherman partners with Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) investigator Dan Cherkin, PhD, on many of her studies, including a randomized trial of acupuncture for back pain that made news in 2009. Also the largest U.S. study of its kind, it was designed to test both practical and theoretical questions in the treatment’s efficacy. 

Dr. Sherman has collaborated with investigators at GHRI and elsewhere across a range of disciplines, including studies of alternative therapies for cancer, mood disorders, and menopause. A special interest is researching the role of non-pharmacologic complementary and alternative medicine in the modern health care system and in finding ways to bring greater healing into the primary care encounter. Dr. Sherman hopes her work will encourage more focus on the intricate connections between mind and body—and on helping patients seize the power of this connection to pursue better health and healing at all phases of life.

Dr. Sherman is a member of the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research and the Society for Acupuncture Research, having served on the latter's board of directors from 1998 to 2007. She serves as a reviewer for dozens of medical journals and sits on the editorial board for International Journal of Yoga Therapy and Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies. Dr. Sherman is also an affiliate research associate professor at Bastyr University and an affiliate associate professor in epidemiology at the University of Washington's School of Public Health.

Related information:

• International Society for Complementary Medicine Research
• Society for Acupuncture Research
• Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies

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Recent publications

Bradley R, Sherman KJ, Catz S, Calabrese C, Oberg EB, Jordan L, Grothaus L, Cherkin D. Adjunctive naturopathic care for type 2 diabetes: patient-reported and clinical outcomes after one year. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Apr 18;12(1):44. PubMed

Avins AL, Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Goldberg H, Pressman A. Should we reconsider the routine use of placebo controls in clinical research? Trials. 2012 Apr 27;13(1):44. [Epub ahead of print].

Bradley R, Sherman KJ, Catz S, Calabrese C, Jordan L, Grothaus L, Cherkin DC. Survey of CAM interest, self-care, and satisfaction with health care for type 2 diabetes at Group Health Cooperative. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011 Dec 1;11(1):121. PubMed

Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Wellman RD, Cook AJ, Hawkes RJ, Delaney K, Deyo RA. A randomized trial comparing yoga, stretching, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Oct 24. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Hsu C, Cherkin DC, Hoffmeyer S, Sherman KJ, Phillips WR. Patient and clinician openness to including a broader range of healing options in primary care. Ann Fam Med. 2011 Sep-Oct;9(5):447-53. PubMed

Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Kahn J, Wellman R, Cook AJ, Johnson E, Erro JH, Delaney KM, Deyo RA. A comparison of the effects of 2 types of massage and usual care on chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Jul 5;155(1):1-9. PubMed

Langevin HM, Wayne PM, Macpherson H, Schnyer R, Milley RM, Napadow V, Lao L, Park J, Harris RE, Cohen M, Sherman KJ, Haramati A, Hammerschlag R. Paradoxes in acupuncture research: strategies for moving forward. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:180805. Epub 2010 Oct 11. PubMed

Vickers AJ, Cronin AM, Maschino AC, Lewith G, Macpherson H, Victor N, Sherman KJ, Witt C, Linde K. Individual patient data meta-analysis of acupuncture for chronic pain: protocol of the Acupuncture Trialists' Collaboration. Trials. 2010 Sep 28;11:90. PubMed

Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Ichikawa L, Avins AL, Delaney K, Barlow WE, Khalsa PS, Deyo RA. Treatment expectations and preferences as predictors of outcome of acupuncture for chronic back pain. Spine. 2010 Jul 1;35(15):1471-7. Epub 2010 Jun 8. PubMed

Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Cook AJ, Hawkes RJ, Deyo RA, Wellman R, Khalsa PS. Comparison of yoga versus stretching for chronic low back pain: protocol for the Yoga Exercise Self-care (YES) trial. Trials. 2010;11(1):36. PubMed

To view more publications, please see Dr. Sherman's CV.

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