Author Guidelines

  Instructions for Authors  

PURPOSE
SpineLine serves as the primary educational and informational publication for the entire NASS membership (and secondary audiences); (1) to educate and inform NASS’ multidisciplinary members on issues of interest and relevance to spine care and research, and to assist them in providing quality, cost-effective patient care; and (2) to communicate and promote the policies, professional activities and products of the association.

The following sections are represented in SpineLine:
 

Current Concepts

• Invited Review. SpineLine editors invite an author or authors to submit a literature review on the state-of-the-art of a particular spine topic. Invited reviews should be approximately 4,000 words with content organized under the following headings: Introduction, Discussion and Conclusion. Include a brief synopsis (with key points) of approximately 250 words. Please include no more than 50 references. (See References section below for format and style.) Figures and tables are welcome; please see below for format and style.
• Curve/Countercurve. The format of this point/counterpoint feature is a case presentation developed by the editors followed by two invited responses. Each response, including 4-6 references, should be approximately 1,500 words. Figures and tables are welcome; see below for format and style.
• The Spine in Sports. An occasional feature looking at current treatment trends for sports-related spine injuries. Manuscript should not exceed 2,000 words or 25 references.
• Literature Review. This regular feature provides brief reviews by editors of articles appearing in the current spine-related literature. Each commentary should be approximately 750-1500 words. The abstract of the article being reviewed (or PMID or URL of electronic, downloadable version) should accompany the commentary.
• Abstract Commentary. The top rated abstracts from each year's NASS annual meeting are published with commentary from editors.  Each review should be approximately 250 words.
  
  

Socioeconomics & Politics

• Practice Management. Tips for maximizing effectiveness of the processes and procedures in the spine practice. Content is coordinated by the Practice Management Committee; target length is 1,500 words.
• Coding. Vignettes with correct coding and documentation, Q & A or other topics related to coding. Content is coordinated by NASS Coding Committees; target length is 750 words.
• Electronic Technology. An examination of the role of electronic technology in practice management. Content is coordinated by the Electronic Technology Committee; target length is 1,500 words.
• Ethical/Legal. Ethical and/or legal responses to a case or question of interest to spine specialists. Content is coordinated by the Ethics Committee; target length is 1,500 words.
• Regulatory Policy. Current news on agency policies, proposals and rulings that affect physicians, their patients and health care delivery in approximately 750 words. Content is coordinated by the Socioeconomic Affairs Council.
• Advocacy, Legislative/PAC. An overview of legislative affairs and their potential impact on spine providers and their patients. Topics, coordinated by the NASS Advocacy Committee, are covered in approximately 1,500 words.

NASS News
A compilation of news, information and announcements of interest to NASS members.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
The manuscript should include the following:

• the title of the article, which should be concise but informative
  
• byline information including the first name, middle initial and last name of each author, with highest academic degree(s) earned; current institutional affiliation; and city/state
• name, complete address, telephone and facsimile numbers, and e-mail address of the author to whom all correspondence should be addressed;
• include any disclaimers, source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs and any acknowledgments to be published.

Style & Format
Please follow the general editorial and format guidelines of the AMA Manual of Style, 9th edition (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1998), eg,

• spell out numerals one through nine and use Arabic numbers for 10 and above.
• use AMA preferred abbreviations, punctuation style, hyphen usage (AMA and Merriam Webster) and reference format (see Reference section below). 
• drug names: use nonproprietary generic names when referring to drugs. Nonproprietary names should not be used in scientific articles except in specific instances in which the proprietary name is essential to reproduce or interpret the study. When both the nonproprietary and proprietary names are listed in text, the nonproprietary name should be listed first, with the proprietary name capitalized and in parentheses. (AMA Manual of Style, 9th ed, p. 356).

Tables
Tables should present data or information and also support the text. Information in the table must be accurate and consistent with the content and style of the text. The table should also be able to stand alone (ie, all necessary information must be contained in the caption and in the table itself, so that it can be understood independent of the text). Please do not repeat information given in the text or make a table for data that can be provided in the text in one or two sentences. For additional information about table format and style, please refer to the AMA Manual of Style, 9th ed.

Figures
High resolution images of at least 300 dpi output are required. Tifs are preferred; high resolution jpgs are acceptable. Each figure must be cited in the text in consecutive, numeric order but please do not embed images in the Word document or text; please send as separate attachments. Supply an accompanying legend for each figure. Please note that in most cases, color figures will be reproduced in black and white or two-color so please write legends accordingly.

References
Each reference should be cited in the text, tables or figures in consecutive numerical order by means of superscript Arabic numerals. References should be listed in numerical order at the end of the manuscript in the order in which they are cited in the text. (AMA Manual of Style, 9th ed, pgs 28-51).

Examples of AMA's reference format are: 

• Journal Article
  Doe AB, Smith CD. Article title with first word capitalized. Journal Abbreviation in Ital. year;volume:inclusive page numbers.
• Book
  Doe AB. Capitalized Book Title in Ital. Place of publication: Publisher; year:inclusive page numbers.
• Chapter in a Book
  Smith CD. Chapter title with first word capitalized. In: Editor(s) names including last name and first and middle initials, eds. Capitalized Book Title in Ital. Place of publication: Publisher;year:inclusive page numbers.
• Paper Presented at a Meeting
  Doe AB, Smith CD, Jones EF, et al. Paper title with first word capitalized. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society; Month dates, year; City, ST.
• Web Site Material
  Author last name and initials if available or organization name. Page title with first word capitalized. Available at: http://www.website_url.org. Accessed: Month day, year.
  

Note that no periods are used after author’s initials or after journal abbreviations. Please use Index Medicus/PubMed journal abbreviations (www.pubmed.gov). Also note that all author names are listed when six or fewer. When a reference has seven or more authors, please list only the first three followed by et al.

Copyright Release. When submitting an article, the author(s) must acknowledge, via a copyright release provided by NASS, that the material has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. If any form of preliminary publication, other than an abstract, has occurred or is contemplated, a copy of the actual or proposed preliminary publication should accompany the submitted manuscript. Copyright releases must be signed and faxed to the NASS office at (630) 230-3742, attn: SpineLine.

Disclosures. A disclosure form, indicating author relationships and FDA status of devices or drugs discussed in the article, is provided by NASS and must be signed by each author and faxed to NASS offices at (630) 230-3742, attn: SpineLine. The intent of this disclosure is not to prevent an author with a significant financial or other relationship from publishing a manuscript, but rather to provide the readership with information on which they can make their own judgments. It remains for the reader to determine whether the author’s interests or relationships may influence the manuscript with regard to exposition or conclusion. The North American Spine Society does not view the existence of these interests or commitments as necessarily implying bias or decreasing the value of your manuscript. Decisions are made solely on the clinical and scientific value of the article. The disclosure and device status statement are published with the article.

AUTHOR PROOFS
To expedite publication, PDF page proofs are sent to the author. Proofs must be returned within three days of receipt. A late return may cause a delay in publication of an article. Please check text, tables, figures, legends and references carefully. If you have not returned a copyright release and disclosure form, they will be sent to you with the proof. Please print, sign and fax to (630) 230-3742, attn: SpineLine.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION
Files should be submitted electronically in standard word-processing formats (Microsoft Word or WordPerfect). Please follow these general instructions:

• Indicate section headings in bold.
• Use italic type rather than underline for journal or book titles, emphasis, etc.
• Do not use two spaces after a period.
• Use hard carriage returns only at the end of paragraphs and display lines (eg, titles and  subheadings).
• Do not use an extra hard return between paragraphs.
• Do not indent run over lines in references.

MANUSCRIPT CHECKLIST
q Submit manuscript, figures.
q If submitting figures, send them as grayscale or two-color images in tif format (or as high resolution jpgs if tifs are not possible).
q Check all references for accuracy. Be sure all are cited within the text, and are listed sequentially in the reference list in the order in which they appear in the text.
q Include written permission from publishers to reproduce any illustrations or tables that have been published previously.
q Fax a signed copy of the copyright release and disclosure form to (630) 230-3742, attn: SpineLine.
q Submit to: spineline@spine.org.

QUESTIONS?
Please e-mail spineline@spine.org or call (866) 960-6277.