40 Years in Print: What You Read, Cited, and Remembered

NASS has always been a publishing society, even before it had journals to show for it. In the early years, scientific papers were bundled into supplements to Spine, our borrowed home before we built one of our own. In between Annual Meetings, the NASSNews newsletter carried society updates and summaries of emerging conversations—short-form, black-and-white, and foundational to member connection in a pre-digital era.

By 1996, NASS had taken on its first major internally authored clinical documents in conjunction with AAOS: printed guidelines that offered formal, evidence-based direction on treatment. Shortly after, NASS introduced Contemporary Concepts in Spine Care shepherded by David Fardon, MD, a short-lived but ambitious effort to capture evolving clinical ideas in print between full guideline updates. In 2004, under the guidance of William Watters III, MD, NASS began developing its own evidence-based clinical guidelines.

In 1999, patient education became a new frontier, with the release of brochures like Lumbar Herniated Disc. These were soon followed by full-length guides—Know Your Spine and Your Spine: An Owner’s Manual—which marked the organization’s first major push into patient-facing books.

The 2000s ushered in a new era of member publications. SpineLine launched in 2000, replacing the newsletter with a bimonthly print magazine that offered clinical reviews, member commentary, and policy discussions. It was quickly followed by the debut of The Spine Journal in 2001, our first peer-reviewed publication and one that quickly earned a place in Index Medicus. Together, they reflected the society’s maturing identity as both a thought leader and publishing entity.